Whither human rights?

Whither human rights?

Marking Human Rights Day today as we do every Dec. 10, we in
Indonesia have every reason to feel concerned about where we, as
a nation, stand in our commitment to upholding the letter and
spirit of 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

All the evidence throughout the year suggests that as a
national political agenda, human rights have not only been put on
the back burner, but we seem to have even abandoned all earlier
efforts at setting our human rights record straight.

The bomb attacks in Bali in October have complicated the human
rights situation. In launching its campaign against terror after
the Bali tragedy, the government of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri has not only relegated human rights from the
national agenda, but it may even have forsaken human rights
principles.

Official rhetoric aside, Indonesia's human rights record looks
particularly appalling this year.

There have been more human rights atrocities committed across
the archipelago, particularly in conflict zones like Maluku,
Aceh, Papua and the Central Sulawesi regency of Poso. What is
particularly disturbing is that many of these violations are
increasingly being committed by non-state entities.

The government and its security forces no longer have a
monopoly claim to being the worst human rights offenders. The
reports we hear from many conflict zones suggest that private
individuals and organizations can be just as cruel and barbaric.

The Bali bombings that left nearly 200 people dead must count
among the worst forms of violations of people's basic rights in
Indonesia in 2002. The perpetrators, whoever they might be, have
not only inflicted damage on the victims and their relatives, but
also on the rest of the nation, who now have to live in fear that
terrorists could attack them anywhere anytime.

If we treat the Bali tragedy as a gross violation of human
rights, there is no reason to see the campaign against terror as
incompatible with the national human rights agenda. On the
contrary, the two should be complimentary, and could even be
pursued simultaneously, without one being sidelined by the other.

The Bali tragedy is an example of how our government has
failed in its duty to provide adequate protection for the people,
Indonesians and foreigners alike. The constant killings and
murders in various conflict zones are other examples of where the
government is failing in its duty to guarantee the people of
their basic rights, including the right to life, and the right to
live in peace and free from fear.

The year started on an optimistic note with the establishment
by the government of the human rights ad hoc tribunal to try
those responsible for past human rights abuses. But most of the
trials held to date have been disappointing.

All the top military and police officers brought before the
tribunal for their alleged role in the 1999 mayhem in East Timor
were acquitted. A handful of pro-Indonesia East Timorese were
convicted, but they got off lightly. Eurico Guterres, the former
militia leader, for example, was sentenced to 10 years'
imprisonment for a crime against humanity. This is a far cry from
justice and a gross insult to our sense of right and wrong
considering that the law stipulates a minimum sentence of 11
years.

There are no signs that any of the top officers who conducted
the military campaign in Aceh between 1991 and 1998, a period
during which rights atrocities are well documented, will be
brought to trial. There cannot be any real peace in Aceh as long
as those responsible for these rights violations are allowed to
roam free.

Impunity, in short, is still the rule in Indonesia. And
because people rarely get punished, they will not hesitate to do
the same thing again, and what is more, other people will be
encouraged to take the same path. As long as impunity remains the
norm, we can expect human rights violations to escalate in the
coming years.

External pressures on the government to set Indonesia's human
rights record straight have also ebbed this year, with
counterterrorism now taking center stage in international
diplomacy.

In the past, external pressures played a significant albeit
not the most important, role in pushing the government to respect
universal human rights principles. Now, we can no longer count on
outside help to exert the necessary pressure on our government to
get its human rights act together.

At the end of the day, it is up to those of us who are
concerned about civil society to put human rights back on the
front burner of the national agenda where it truly belong. This
is a battle that we Indonesians have to wage by ourselves for the
sake of our own future. The year 2002 may seem gloomy, but we
must not relent in our fight. Most of all, we must not lose hope.