COUNTER TERROR WITH JUSTICE
A statement by Indonesian rights groups
We fully support every form of effort that will be carried
out by the U.S. President Barack Obama to close Guantanamo
as a torture facility within his first 100 days. The torture
system created by the Bush administration in Guantanamo has
made a global anomaly given that the U.S. is a great nation
which highly respects the values of humanity and
civilisation. Torture against the terrorist suspect,
however, has vanished the international obligation which is
always echoed by the U.S.
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Torture and other ill treatment is
definitely not a global contemporary politic culture, and so
is the terrorism as an intolerable crime for whatsoever
reasons. Fighting terrorism with similar crime, however,
will only be resulting in a contra productive approach. By
closing one of the international torture facilities, the
U.S. therefore has returned the moral values to a place
where it truly belongs, just like a civilised nation which
highly respects the dignity of humanity.
To close Guantanamo as a torture facility is the first step
that needs to be taken by Barack Obama so as to reveal
similar human rights violation occurred in the U.S.'s secret
detention facility in other places, such as Afghanistan, the
British Indian Ocean Territory of Diego Garcia, Jordan,
Pakistan, Thailand, and East Europe. Additionally, this
effort can be a positive example for the U.S. to contribute
in abolishing torture around the world. Torture on the one
hand is expressed as a kind of crimes against humanity.
Ironically, torture in one hand has been regarded as one of
the crime falls under the category of jus cogens which also
prohibited even in times of war, but in the other hand
torture is still widely practised all over the world,
including in Indonesia, especially to the suspects and
detainees.
In Indonesia, the history of torture has been extensively
taken place. Arbitrary detention of hundreds of thousands
after the tragedy of 1965 - 1966 has become a dark history
of torture which brings social and national politics
implication. Indonesian civil societies are still and keep
on struggling so that all forms of torture will never happen
again. What has been done by the government of the U.S. is
denounced not only because it was a systematic human rights
violation but it could also be a bad example for other
government throughout the world. Torture regime can justify
that because such practice is committed by the U.S., thus
other party can not complaint their bad record of human
rights within their respective country. In the context of
this "War on Terror" has been prejudice and undermine the
process of world peace.
It is about time that change we hope from
Barack Obama has global political steps to restore the human
dignity which has been systemically violated by the U.S.
President Obama must prove his promise as stated in the
speech: Equality aspect must covered all human rights and
encourage world peace. Therefore, we, The Indonesian Youth
for Humanity, hereby urge the U.S. President Barack Obama to
realise his international political promise to close the
so-called "War on Terror" Prison Camp as a concrete step to
rebuild peace and protect human rights. We also urge that
the U.S. President Barack Obama to stop every form of
facility, funding, and military infrastructure given by the
U.S. in the recent war between nations like is now taking
place in Gaza, Palestine. Specifically we demand the United
Nations to participate in solving the various humanitarian
conflict that involves torture practices in every part of
the world.
Jakarta, 21 January 2009
The Indonesian Youth for Humanity
Asia Pacific Youth Network - Indonesia, ELSAM, FORKON,
Gerbang 7, GMNI
UBK, GMNK, IKOHI, Indonesia for Obama, JSKK, Klinik Hukum FH
Universitas Nasional, KOMPAK, KontraS, LBH Jakarta, LBH
Masyarakat,
LS-ADI, Our voice, PBHI, PBHI Jakarta, Mahasiswa STIE
Rawamangun,
Mahasiswa Trisakti, STIGMA, YLBHI, YPKP 65
