Students mark arrests of fellow activists

JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of students marched to the House of Representatives wearing gags yesterday to mark the anniversary of the Dec. 14, 1993 arrest of 21 students for insulting President Soeharto during a demonstration.

One female student sprinkled flower petals along the way in imitation of a funeral procession, while some of her friends pantomimed scenes of torture, death and mourning.

"What our friends fought for last year is also part of our struggle," the students, who refused to speak, announced through a written statement.

"Students, as the heart and soul of this nation, should uphold humanity and justice.

"Because the freedom of speech has become so restricted in this country, this time we choose to remain silent," the statement said.

The protesters of the Solidarity for Indonesian Students' Action also condemned what they called the authorities' "security approach".

"The results of this approach are disrespect for humanity and justice," the statement said, listing off a number of land dispute cases which reportedly involved violence on the part of the authorities.

Among the land disputes mentioned were the Nipah village, Madura, incident, and similar problems in the Cijayanti and Cimacan villages of West Java.

"We believe that this nation is going in the opposite direction of the ideals contained in the 1945 proclamation of independence," the statement said.

The statement said the protesters were reaffirming the demands made by their friends last year.

On Dec. 14 last year, 21 students were arrested after they demanded that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) convene a special session to evaluate President Soeharto's leadership.

The members of the Front for Indonesian Students' Action came from various universities in Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Bali. After highly publicized trials, they were sentenced to several months in prison each, after being convicted of insulting the head of state.

Some have been released. The rest are scheduled to be freed later this month.

Convention

In a related discussion on human rights, House members from the United Development Party faction pointed out the need for Indonesia to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

"However, the people should not depend solely on this faction in seeking support for the ratification... After all, we are a small and powerless political group," said House member Muchsin at a hearing with members of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy.

House member Ali Hardi Kiaidemak said that there were several problems to be faced in the process of ratifying such a convention.

These included the need for at least two factions of the House to endorse the ratification and the need to take into account the "cultural values" inherent in the convention, which some people might view as pressure from the "West", as well as the possibility of a presidential decree overpowering the ratification.

The institute was hoping to get the faction's endorsement for the ratification of the convention which deals with torture and other physical abuse by people in public office, including the military.

The convention has already been ratified by 82 countries. Indonesia signed the convention in October 1985, but has never ratified it.

The institute's executive director, Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, said that nine years was more than enough time to prepare for the ratification.

The increasing number of tortures lately is another reason the ratification is urgently needed, he said.

The institute has submitted drafts of the convention to all the factions in the House, as well as to the state secretariat and the ministries of foreign affairs and justice.

Although members of the faction never explicitly said they would endorse a draft of the convention, they said they had "the same spirit and perception" as the institute.

"We know exactly what you mean by torture, because many of our members have to go through that experience during the elections, and even afterwards," Kiaidemak said. (swe/pwn)