Transmigration promotes human rights: Diplomat

JAKARTA (JP): The government's transmigration program, contrary to what its critics say, has the noble objective of fulfilling the people's basic rights, a senior diplomat said yesterday.

The transmigration program is aimed essentially at improving the living standards of the people, which is an inseparable part of their social and economic rights, Hassan Wirajuda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

With the tendency toward overemphasizing civil and political rights in any discussion on human rights, "it is often forgotten that raising standards of living and being free from poverty are among the most fundamental rights", Hassan, the ministry's director of international organizations, said during a lecture about transmigration and its human rights aspects at the Ministry of Transmigration.

The extent to which transmigration promotes human rights can also be seen from the fact that the majority of its participants are landless farmers, he said. "There is no worse form of deprivation for a farmer than the denial of his right to own land which is the chief asset for his livelihood."

The right to own land to a farmer, he added, ranks with the right to life and the right against arbitrary use of power.

Under the transmigration program, the government is resettling hundreds of thousands of people each year from Java and Bali to the other more sparsely populated islands.

Under the program, settlers receive plots of land to cultivate and as a place to build a home. A more recent variation combines the program with the development of nearby plantations or forestry estates by private contractors, who employ the settlers and help market their produce.

The transmigration program has been widely criticized by a number of foreign non-governmental organizations as fraught with human rights violations.

One criticism is that the program is forcing people to move against their will, while another is that the program is threatening local cultures or even the existence of indigenous people in the areas where new settlements are being opened.

Hassan denied any element of force in the way the government is running the transmigration program.

Most criticism has come from foreign non-governmental organizations known to have been promoting the interests of separatists rebels in Indonesia in their attempt to discredit the government of Indonesia, he said.

NGOs

"Many international NGOs, such as Amnesty International and Survival International, have frequently launched open criticism against Indonesia over the transmigration program just to win international support for the struggle of local separatist groups," he said.

Hassan acknowledged that Indonesia should show greater sensitivity to the human rights dimensions of the transmigration program.

More specifically, he said there should be greater attention and sensitivity in the way transmigration program is managed in areas or provinces still troubled by insurgency, such as East Timor, Aceh and Irian Jaya.

"There should be at least a more socio-cultural approach, including greater respect for the local cultural values.

"In these regions, mistakes would not only spark conflict and violence, but separatist groups are always ready to manipulate the mistakes to further their political interests."

Hassan dismissed the argument there is a need for protection of the rights of minorities and of the indigenous peoples, now often linked with human rights discussions, as inapplicable in an "integral" nation such as Indonesia.

"Such an approach runs counter to the concept of an integral state which treats all citizens as an inseparable unity. In a familial state, there is no need to issue a separate regulation that provides guarantees for minority ethnic, religious or cultural groups. What we have is a regulation on the rights of citizens, without any discrimination whatsoever."

"The question of protection for the rights of minorities is irrelevant for Indonesia because there are more than 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia, and not a single one is in the majority," he said.

Hassan added that the debate about "indigenous people" does not apply in Indonesia because the state does not differentiate as to whether its citizens are indigenous of not.

"To us, such a distinction carries a discriminative connotation, which runs counter to the very efforts at protecting human rights," he added. (rms)