Rights commission proposal rejected

Rights commission proposal rejected

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: The local office of the National Commission on Human Rights has rejected a proposal for a special institution handling refugees in the province.

Rousdy Said, deputy chairman of the local commission, said on Monday that a new institution would only further complicate the bureaucratic procedures in managing refugees.

Pontianak now accommodates thousands of Madurese people displaced after the 1999 bloody ethnic clashes in Sambas pitted Madurese migrants against native Malays.

The special commission in charge of refugees was proposed by Asmara Nababan, secretary-general of the Jakarta-based National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas-HAM).

Nababan argued last week that the commission was necessary because the government was inefficient in helping refugees living in camps across the country.

Over a million people have been displaced by communal violence, most notably in Aceh, Central Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara.

Rousdy said that what West Kalimantan should do is improve the performance of the existing institution, Antara reported. He added that he had the impression that Nababan's proposal was meant to allow the numerous non-governmental organizations to intervene in refugees' affairs.