Statement to the next
government of Indonesia on human
rights
Indonesia has implemented many
positive changes during its
transition to democracy in the past
16 years. However, the continued
lack of accountability for past and
ongoing violations of human rights
threatens lasting progress. The
election of a new parliament and
president this year provide an
opportunity to firmly break with the
past. Following the parliamentary
elections of April 9 and with the
third direct presidential election
fast approaching, we call upon the
incoming government of Indonesia to
fully and meaningfully address the
legacy of impunity for past human
rights violations.
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The new government
must make a priority of ending the
impunity and culture of violence
that continues to plague the
country.
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Since the end of the Suharto
dictatorship, Indonesia has ratified
key human rights treaties and
established or strengthened
mechanisms such as the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
HAM) and the Corruption Eradication
Commission (KPK) to begin a process
of reform. However, many attempts
to deal with the abuses committed by
the New Order regime have been
half-hearted at best or clearly
designed to fail. Human rights
atrocities demanding justice include
the massacres of 1965-1967 that
brought Suharto to power through the
illegal invasion and occupation of
Timor-Leste to the devastating
military operations in Aceh, West
Papua and elsewhere and the enforced
disappearances and systematic rapes
of May 1998 which led to the end of
the regime.
In such an atmosphere, it is not
surprising that security forces
continue to operate with impunity:
Detachment 88 regularly engages in
extrajudicial killings in the name
of fighting terrorism. Kopassus has
been accused of assassinating
political leaders in Aceh. And
Brimob and other security and
intelligence agencies regularly
attack indigenous activists in West
Papua. The historical persecution of
ethnic minorities, as well as
suspected PKI supporters and their
families, continues. The state is
not only failing to protect
minorities from fundamentalist
groups, but supports their
persecution through the enactment of
Joint Ministerial Decree 3/2008.
Other recent legislation, such as
the 2008 anti-pornography law and
the 2013 law on civil organizations,
contributes to violations of freedom
of expression and association.
These actions have not only
emboldened fundamentalist groups,
but send the wrong messages to
police and local officials. The
incoming government should act to
repeal these restrictive laws and
actively work to overturn illegal
local by-laws that restrict freedom
of religion.
Law and Justice
Rather than enact draconian
legislation, the new government
should continue the process by
ratifying international human rights
instruments, such as the
International Convention against
Enforced Disappearances and the
Optional Protocol to the Convention
Against Torture, and bringing
international standards into
national law.
Komnas HAM must receive the
resources and government support
needed to carry out its mandate, and
the government should act on its
recommendations to pursue criminal
cases against those responsible for
past abuses such as the May 1998
riots and the 1965-1967 massacres.
The decade old promise of outgoing
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
to bring to justice the authors of
the murder of human rights activist
Munir should finally be kept. The
government should provide meaningful
reparations for the victims,
survivors and their families of
egregious human rights crimes. The
Indonesian military (TNI) must be
brought fully under civilian control
and the rule of law. Proposed
legislation requiring military
personnel accused of violating
civilian rights to submit to
civilian courts should be passed.
The new government should
re-evaluate its exceptions to the
recommendations of the UN’s Second
Universal Periodic Review (2012) and
commit to their implementation,
including abolition of the death
penalty, and ending the use of
articles of the Criminal Code -
especially Articles 106 and 110 - to
criminalize freedom of expression.
Timor-Leste
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The new government
must make a priority of ending the
impunity and culture of violence
that continues to plague the
country.
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Furthermore, the bilateral
relationship between Indonesia and
Timor-Leste should not be limited to
meetings between officials, but must
also include building genuine
relationships between peoples. The
deeply flawed Commission for Truth
and Friendship (CTF) must not be the
last word. The new government of
Indonesia must fully implement the
recommendations of the Commission
for Reception, Truth and
Reconciliation (CAVR), CTF, and the
UN’s 2005 Commission of Experts,
including security sector reforms,
an international tribunal to
prosecute crimes against humanity
and war crimes committed during the
occupation, the opening of all
relevant historical archives,
including those of the TNI, and
reparations for victims - starting
first with those who continue to
suffer as a result of the human
rights violations committed against
them. Indonesia should join with
Timor-Leste in a Missing Persons
Commission to reunify separated
children and identify the
whereabouts of disappeared persons.
The new Indonesian government should
seek quick agreement on the final
section of the border with
Indonesia. The international
community, especially major
supporters of the New Order regime
such as the United States, the
United Kingdom, Japan and Australia,
should contribute to such efforts at
justice and reconciliation (through
official apologies, financial
reparations, access to archives, and
prosecution of their nationals).
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A woman cries as 1000 'tombs' highlight
rights violations in Indonesia at a protest in Jakarta.
(REUTERS/Dadang Tri) |
East Timorese demonstrate in
Dili for justice. Photo by
Karen Orenstein/ETAN |
West Papua
Indonesian security forces operate
with near impunity in the provinces
of West Papua and Papua. The
environment for freedom of
expression and peaceful assembly has
deteriorated significantly in the
past year as a result of an
increasingly repressive approach to
the policing of peaceful political
activities. The number of political
arrests more than doubled in 2013
and the number of reported cases of
torture and ill-treatment
quadrupled. In conflict areas,
police 'sweepings' that drive
villagers from their homes led to
further violence and arbitrary
arrests of civilians. The Indonesian
government continues to jail
peaceful protesters, many for
raising or simply possessing the
banned West Papuan Morning Star
flags. The new Indonesian government
should release the dozens of
political prisoners from West Papua
and elsewhere. Restrictions on
access to West Papua by
international journalists, human
rights investigators, and
humanitarian organizations must end.
The new government should open
internationally-mediated
negotiations with West Papuan civil
society on their political status
and other human rights issues.
For too long, the Indonesian
government has allowed impunity to
prevail for past crimes against
humanity, allowing perpetrators of
some of the most horrendous human
rights abuses of the past century
not only to remain unpunished, but
to continue to influence
developments in Indonesia. The
new government must make a priority
of ending the impunity and culture
of violence that continues to plague
the country. The new government
must commit to full justice and
accountability for past crimes,
impose a zero tolerance for new
abuses, and implement the structural
reforms needed to bring police and
military fully under civilian
control and the rule of law.
Sincerely,
Asian Human Rights Commission
Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)
Focus on the Global South
Franciscans International
International Coalition for Papua
Nonviolence International
People's Movement for Human Rights
Learning (PDHRE)
Pax Christi Aotearoa-New Zealand
West Papua Action Auckland
Australia East Timor Friendship
Association South Australia Inc
Australians for a Free East Timor,
Darwin, Australia
AWPA (Sydney)
AWPA South Australia
Watch Indonesia!, Germany
West Papua Netzwerk, Germany
Politik Rakyat, Indonesia
National Papua Solidarity (NAPAS),
Indonesia
Pantau Foundation, Indonesia
Japan East Timor Coalition
Foundation Pro Papua, The
Netherlands
Swedish East Timor Committee
Swedish Free Papua Association
Asosiasaun HAK, Timor-Leste
Lao Hamutuk, Timor-Leste
Tapol, UK
Campaign for Peace and Democracy,
USA
East Timor and Indonesia Action
Network (ETAN), USA
Genocide Watch, USA
West Papua Advocacy Team, USA
