Start rights pact debate, Golkar told

Start rights pact debate, Golkar told

JAKARTA (JP): More activists called on Golkar yesterday to let
go of its anxiety toward a proposed human rights charter and
initiate deliberations on it at the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR).

Secretary-general of the Association of the Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals (ICMI) Adi Sasono and human rights lawyer
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said Golkar should not ignore the
proposal and respond positively to the initiative.

"Golkar shouldn't be wary of the proposal by the
National Defense and Security Affairs Council since it must have
already been consulted with its chairman, President Soeharto,"
Adi told reporters after attending a seminar at Daiichi Hotel,
Central Jakarta yesterday.

He said the Golkar faction in the MPR should not easily
dismiss the proposal.

"Golkar should seize this opportunity to fulfill its promises
made during its general election campaign last April," he said.

Nursyahbani argued that human rights issues were gaining
greater awareness among the public and Golkar should correspond
with societal elements in a national drive for human rights
protection.

"Issues on human rights protection have received a positive
response from the people.

"And Golkar, as the most powerful political organization,
should reevaluate its aversion to the proposal," she remarked.

Golkar has been reluctant toward the proposal, arguing that
human rights principles are already ingrained in the 1945
Constitution, the state ideology Pancasila and the State Policy
Guidelines.

Golkar maintains that it is unnecessary to include human
rights principles in an MPR decree. This stance has earlier been
supported by the Armed Forces (ABRI) faction.

Nursyahbani disagreed with Golkar's arguments, saying
Pancasila, the constitution and the State Policy Guidelines were
only explicit in stipulating a small part of the principles while
the larger part was merely implied.

"People's basic rights should be stipulated in full in a
ruling," she said.

Adi said that making the human rights principles an MPR decree
would improve the country's image on human rights issues.

"Whether we like it or not, human rights principles have
always been included in every bilateral and multilateral
agreement," he said.

But he said the decree should not be zealous in adopting
values which did not correspond to Indonesia's own.

Team

Golkar chairman Harmoko said yesterday it had established a
team to discuss whether to include the human rights issue in a
draft of the MPR decree or the State Policy Guidelines.

"It's not true Golkar neglects human rights principles,"
Harmoko, who is also Speaker of the House of Representatives
(DPR), said as quoted by Antara.

Deputy House Speaker Syarwan Hamid said he would not dismiss
the possibility of deliberating the issue at an MPR general
session, but insisted that implementation of human rights
principles should be everyone's major concern.

Syarwan, who is from the Armed Forces faction, also stressed
that a human rights decree must take into consideration local
cultural values.

Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Yunus
Yosfiah declined to comment yesterday.

"Let the MPR's working committee discuss whether it's
necessary to include the human rights principles in an MPR
decree," he told reporters after attending the opening ceremony
of a seminar and exhibition on Communication Electronic Warfare
and Information Technology at the Gen. Soedirman Hall in Tebet,
South Jakarta, yesterday.

The United Development Party (PPP) was the only faction to
have outright declared its intention to fight in favor of the
human rights charter. The tiny Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
faction has so far kept quiet. (imn/har)