Speakers debate respect for rights, political reforms
Speakers debate respect for rights, political reforms
DEPOK, West Java: Human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman
said yesterday that increased respect for human rights requires
political reform.
"The question of protecting human rights is also a question of
political reform," said Marzuki, a former legislator and a
leading member of the National Commission on Human Rights.
Speaking at a discussion held by the University of Indonesia's
School of Letters, Marzuki evaluated the stages and various
obstacles the campaign for human rights faces.
Marzuki said the biggest problem is a "poor political life"
dominated by a political elite.
"A skewed political atmosphere and any domination by
political, economic or social powers is very susceptible to human
rights violations," he said.
Reform is needed to correct the situation, he said.
"Protecting human rights can succeed if there is political
reform; if the House of Representatives, the People's
Consultative Assembly, and even public opinion function well," he
said.
Political reform does not mean "political system replacement",
he pointed out. The current political system, based on the state-
ideology Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, should be
maintained, he said.
"This stance must be universal for us to have productive
talks, especially with the Armed Forces," he said.
He described political reform as a process to improve the
function of all institutions, and to correct shortcomings like
the power structure.
"We should prevent the domination of any condition, belief,
individual or group over the other members of society," he said.
Obstacles
Marzuki identified three other obstacles to "a common standard
of achievement" for protecting human rights.
The first is the continuous, but futile, debates about
"universal versus local" concepts of human rights, he said.
Problems emerge when the state apparatus cannot agree on
whether to uphold the universal or the Indonesian concept of
human rights, he said.
Another problem is that international scrutiny of Indonesia's
human rights campaign often fails to consider the social,
cultural and political situation, he said.
The final obstacle is "basic ignorance about human rights, by
both individuals and society."
Marzuki said the establishment of the commission in 1993
proves reform is taking place.
The discussion also featured social observer Ariel Heryanto
from the Satya Wacana Christian University in Salatiga, Central
Java, and philosopher F.X. Mudji Sutrisno.
Ariel disagreed with Marzuki and said that although the
commission is considered "more independent" than other
government-sponsored bodies, its activists "cannot do more than
talk".
"More independent to do what? To speak, of course. Nothing
more than that. Nothing more than what other activists who have
not been appointed by the head of state have done," Ariel said.
Ariel said the commission members "have given the maximum
contribution they can give within the existing limitations."
"The commission can only bring about real changes in society
if there are other institutions with the authority and passion to
translate the commission's contribution into more binding, formal
policies," he said.
Ariel, who is known for his critical writing, said yesterday
that "the main violator of human rights in the history of
humankind has been the social institution called the State."
(swe)