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Indonesian commission on human rights installs new board members

JAKARTA, Dec 8 (AFP) - The Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights has installed new board members, appointing former deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman the new chairman, members said Tuesday.

In the new line-up, formalized Monday, Darusman replaced former religious affairs minister Munawir Sadzali.

Daruman is currently the chairman of ruling Golkar party faction at country's highest legislative, the People's Consultative Assembly.

Named as new deputy chairmen were Joko Sugianto and Bambang Suharto, the latter also a prominent member of Golkar who was formerly a board member of Komnas Ham.

Dropped from the board were current Justice Minister Muladi (eds: one name) and Nurcholis Madjid, one of the country's noted Moslem intellectuals.

Among the newcomers were businessman H.S. Dillon, Said Aqil Siraj, the secretary general of Indonesia's largest Moslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama, and Ali Afi, head of the Indonesian Council of Moslem Scholars (MUI) -- the country's highest Islamic authority.

The commission known as Komnas Ham was installed by former president Suharto in 1993 with the task of promoting the observance and protection of human rights.

The commission, though directly responsible to the president, has been praised by observers for its critical assessments of cases ranging from land disputes to human rights violations by the military, despite initial skepticism by human rights activists here.

TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, 8 Hop Gardens London WC2N 4EH Tel: 171 497 5355 Fax: 171 4975313 Email: hops@gn.apc.org Defending the rights of the victims of oppression in Indonesia, East Timor, West Papua and Aceh, 1973-1998

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