Soesilo's rights body remarks spark comment

Soesilo's rights body remarks spark comment

JAKARTA (JP): Maj. Gen. (ret) Samsudin, one of the four
newest members of the National Commission on Human Rights,
concurred with a government official's recent criticism that the
commission overstepped its boundary.

Samsudin admitted yesterday that the commission has, as stated
by Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security
Soesilo Soedarman, been directly involved in settling disputes
rather than merely monitoring possible rights violations and
issuing recommendations on action to be taken.

"It's true. The commission has been doing some 'operational'
works," he told The Jakarta Post yesterday. However, he said that
the poor performance of some relevant government agencies was one
of the reasons why the rights commission had to do more than its
prescribed job.

"It happened because many institutions failed to function," he
said, without elaborating.

Soesilo opened the second National Workshop on Human Rights
here Wednesday, warning the rights commission for overstepping
its boundaries and telling it to stick to its mission.

"There is an impression, still in need of verification, that
the National Commission on Human Rights has been 'operationally'
involved in legal disputes," Soesilo then said.

Samsudin pointed out that the commission has been doing a good
job handling controversial cases, such as the slaying of labor
activist Marsinah and journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, and
the killing of villagers in Liquisa, East Timor by Armed Forces
members.

He said people's trust in the commission is steadily growing,
as shown by the increasing number of people requesting its help.

Samsudin, however, chose not to see Soesilo's remarks as
criticism. Rather, it's advice. "The commission has to receive it
as an input to improve its performance," he said.

He also suggested that the commission start focusing more on
its strategic mission, namely monitoring rights violations,
rather than being involved in "small jobs" which Soesilo
described as "operational work".

Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human
Rights Association told the Post separately yesterday that
Soesilo was not being objective when he made the remarks.

"He was emotional," Luhut said, adding that the commission has
actually met the hopes of people in need of help because their
rights were violated.

"The commission's success in many of its tasks has earned it a
prestigious position in the community," he said. "The government
should have praised the commission, rather than rapping it on the
knuckles."

"The government serves the people. If the commission also
serves the community well, it should be praised, shouldn't it?"
he said. "If it functions well, reward it."

Meanwhile, commission member Albert Hasibuan said at the
workshop yesterday that the multitude of reports on rights
violations that the public filed with the commission is a
testimony of the body's credibility.

"Follow-up actions, however, should be conducted by the other
relevant institutions," he said. (03)