W. Sumatra gets rights office

W. Sumatra gets rights office

PADANG, West Sumatra: The National Commission on Human Rights
opened a branch office here Saturday at a ceremony officiated by
Zainal Bakar, secretary of the West Sumatra provincial
administration.

Antara said the ceremony was attended by Clementino Dos Reis
Amaral, the secretary general of the rights commission, and
Rudini, former Home Affairs Minister.

Amaral said the setting up of the institute in West Sumatra
was aimed at expanding the human rights network across the
country. Although West Sumatra was the third province to have
such a institute after East Timor and Aceh, this did not mean
that human rights violations in the province were rampant, he
said.

"The number of human rights violations in West Sumatra is
relatively small, or even smaller than that of land disputes,"
Amaral said.

The presence of a human rights institute in each province was
imperative to maintain resilience and unity under the principles
of mutual respect and universal values, he said.

He said the institute's aim was not to act as a perennial
critic of the regional administration but to serve as the
latter's working partner.

"On the other hand, although the institute is a working
partner of the government, it does not mean it must follow the
latter's will," he said.