Riots add to toll of human rights violations

Riots add to toll of human rights violations

By Frans H. Winarta

JAKARTA (JP): The East Asia economic crisis did not spare
Indonesia, which has felt its bite since the end of July 1997.
Whether it was by design or not, the crisis has manifested in
people venting their frustration against the ethnic Chinese and
the Christian minority.

The riots toward the end of 1997 and the beginning of this
year in a number of places in Java, Sulawesi and elsewhere in the
country, have caused concerns both at home and abroad. A new list
of human rights violations, which are of national and
international concern, has had the destruction and looting of
shops owned by ethnic Chinese added to it.

The right to own property is an unalienable right which cannot
be reduced or appropriated by anyone, including the state, except
by a just, open and impartial court decision.

No military regime, however strong, no majority, however
dominant, no political force, however important can take, reduce
or appropriate somebody's human rights. The right to live, the
right to own property, the right to obtain citizenship and the
right to be treated equally before the law are among the most
basic human rights and cannot be eliminated at will.

If property rights cannot be guaranteed, the recent riots will
give rise to paranoia, especially for the ethnic Chinese. This
will result in a significant capital flight which will impair
Indonesia's economy.

Malaysia had a brain drain in the 1970s and the 1980s when
professionals emigrated due to political pressure and ethnic
tension. The Malaysian government stemmed the trend by the ruling
UMNO party approaching the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA),
the ethnic Chinese political party. It knew that it was more
beneficial to establish a coalition than to create enmity with
other parties.

The Philippines has no Chinese problem. The government invited
the citizens of Taiwan to invest in the country during the
Marcos' era since Taiwan had a trade surplus with the
Philippines. With their investment the Taiwanese were given the
same status as Filipino citizens.

Chinese Indonesians were left without any organization after
Baperki (an organization to promote ethnic Chinese integration
into Indonesian society) was dissolved in the wake of the
abortive communist coup in 1965.

This condition has caused an absence of communication between
the Indonesian government and the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia.
The relationship between the government and the Chinese
conglomerate businessmen, who do not represent the ethnic
Chinese, is that of patronage and has caused suspicion rather
than trust in the integrity and patriotism of the ethnic Chinese.
It has additionally given rise to social envy in the community.

In the context of managing the economic crisis, which is at
the same time a crisis of confidence in the rupiah as well as in
the government, the riots in Indonesia smack of racism and
religious prejudice and should be contained in order to prevent
capital flight. The solution of the rioting will also contribute
to the reinstatement of trust from the local and international
community to the Indonesian government.

Law enforcement is crucial to the restoration of trust and
with the rule of law in force, a conducive business climate will
be created by legal certainty. This is the time for Indonesia to
enforce the law and to introduce legal reform as well as
political and economic reforms. All the sub-systems have to
support the country's development. Experience shows that neglect
of the legal sub-system has caused the collapse of the Indonesian
economy.

Political observer Amien Rais' recent sympathetic statement in
Yogyakarta that the ethnic Chinese are our brothers and sisters
has played a part in calming anti-Chinese sentiment.

This is the kind of statement expected from both the formal
and informal leaders of this nation, if the principles of
Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity) are to be upheld
consistently.

Cool-headed and rational thinking is the key to success in
overcoming the economic crisis. Economic and other reforms will
be futile if ethnic tensions lead to capital flight.

The world's great religions which are deeply rooted in
Indonesia like Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism have
always taught about brotherhood. What is lacking is perhaps a
full comprehension of this.

Another possibility is that materialism and hedonism have
consumed Indonesia in the last 30 years of development. The
Pancasila philosophy that is the nation's unifying force needs
refreshing in its implementation and should not be made a mere
political slogan.

Differences of opinion must be tolerated and accommodated in
accordance with the characteristic of a modern and democratic
society. The protection of human rights is the state's
responsibility and indispensable to the political, economic and
cultural system it adopted. Although Indonesia is a multi-racial
and multi-ethnic nation, it is a unified one.

The writer is a corporate lawyer based in Jakarta.