U.S. senator impressed with RI's rights commission

U.S. senator impressed with RI's rights commission

JAKARTA (JP): United States Senator Craig Thomas is currently
visiting Indonesia to gain a better understanding of the
political system and human rights practices here.

Senator Thomas and his delegation visited the National
Commission for Human Rights yesterday and was met by commission
members, led by chairman Munawir Sjadzali.

Later he said he was "very impressed" with the commission's
work.

"All of us are very impressed with how the rights commission
works here, and the independence it has. We are also interested
with the authority the commission has to implement its findings,"
he said.

"And part of that whole change that we hope we'll be able to
assist...is human rights, which is an important part of our
society and our constitution. So we've come to discuss with the
commission what they are doing," said the U.S. senator from
Wyoming.

During his visit, Thomas was also scheduled to meet with
President Soeharto and foreign minister Ali Alatas.

Senator Thomas, who is chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia
and the Pacific Rim, said the overall purpose of his visit was
"to learn more about what's going on here".

"Obviously we're very interested in the economics, in the
security of the region, in the leadership that Indonesia is
taking on with respect to ASEAN and others," he said.

Relations between Jakarta and Washington, while overall
amiable, have gone through a rough patch in the past few months
with strong criticism from individual senators and congressmen on
human rights issues.

Strategy

Senator Thomas' arrival is part of the Indonesian government's
strategy to allow a better dissemination of information on the
true conditions in the country.

Thomas is accompanied by nine other delegates from the Center
for Democracy, a nonprofit foundation based in Washington D.C. It
was created in the U.S. in 1985 to promote and strengthen the
democratic process worldwide.

The meeting between Thomas and the commission yesterday
appeared to touch a wide variety of issues prevalent in Indonesia
today.

"We talked more about the process...as we (the United States)
move forward in other kinds of relationships with Indonesia or
other ASEAN countries and the whole Pacific rim...there are
concerns of human rights.

"And concerns about Timor, concerns about political parties,
and all those things, and so we need to be as familiar with those
things as we can, and what your government is doing about them,"
Thomas said.

"These are concerns in our congress, and people bring them up
constantly, and we're concerned about them...so we are here in
order to become more knowledgeable about them. And in order to do
that, we need to know more about what's going on with human
rights, because people in my country are interested in the issue
as much as you are here," Thomas said.

PDI

Separately, National Commission for Human Rights deputy
chairman, Marzuki Darusman, told reporters after the meeting that
the senator's delegation also asked the commission about problems
facing the Indonesian Democratic Party.

"We told the delegation there was an impression that there had
been pressure placed on the party by the government, but it
shouldn't be seen as something separate from the party's own
internal conflict, which also affected the party's performance in
the last election," Marzuki said.

He said that explanation was also given to the events
surrounding the July 27 riots last year.

Marzuki lauded the visit as "very useful" in creating a better
understanding of Indonesia and what it has achieved despite "its
shortcomings". (aan)