>INDONESIA: Judicial failure, military control haunt Indonesia human rights
>(Hong Kong, December 9, 2004) Indonesia's human rights protection has been
>... Extreme forms of torture and cruelty since the 1965 massacre continue to
>be ...
>
> INDONESIA: Judicial failure, military control haunt Indonesia human
>rights
> PRESS RELEASE
> AHRC-PL-108-Indonesia-2004
>
> Judicial failure, military control haunt Indonesia human rights
>
> (Hong Kong, December 9, 2004) Indonesia's human rights protection has
>been haunted by a lack of judicial independence and the persistent strong
>control of the military over the country, the Asian Human Rights Commission
>(AHRC) says.
>
> Extreme forms of torture and cruelty since the 1965 massacre continue
>to be perpetrated by the police and security forces up to the present day,
>whether in Aceh, Papua or even in Jakarta, as evidenced by the recent
>shooting into a crowd of protesters in Bogor, the AHRC says.
>
> Although Indonesia this year has its first directly elected president
>and an enactment of a long-awaited unified judicial system that installs the
>principle of judicial independence for the first time, it is yet to know how
>these changes can help improve the country's governance and human rights.
>
> "Whether or not the new president has the political will to reform the
>entire prosecution system so that the rule of law is properly established
>the independence accorded to the Supreme Court remains to be seen," the AHRC
>says in its digest on Indonesia's rights situation to mark the international
>human rights day.
>
> Justice will remain illusory unless reforms to the police, judiciary
>and other agencies are also implemented, the Hong Kong-based regional human
>rights group notes.
>
> The many entrenched corrupt practices in the legal system, such as
>verdict trading and abuse of managerial powers, also need to be addressed
>through monitoring and disciplinary agencies, the group says.
>
> The AHRC also expresses concern over the pre-eminent power of the
>military in the country, although overt power has been largely transferred
>to the national assembly.
>
> The military is still well represented at all levels of policy-making
>and implementation. In conflict zones, it is the sole authority, the AHRC
>says.
>
> "The continued strength of its grip on all aspects of administration
>in Indonesia means that cases of human rights abuse committed in areas of
>civil conflict are never properly investigated or brought to the courts,"
>the rights group notes.
>
> "The election of an army officer as president does little to assuage
>doubts that the military may not be called upon to take a new and equally
>powerful role for itself in the future," the group cautions.
>
> Indonesia is one of the countries in Asia that has a bad human rights
>record. The overall rights situation in the region remains very bleak with
>many places facing the breakdown of the rule of law that makes their people
>live in instability and constant fear.
>
> Apart from the failure of its judiciary, Indonesia also sees the
>attorney general's office causing delays in justice for thousands of victims
>of human rights abuses, the AHRC charges.
>
> It cites that although the National Human Rights Commission of
>Indonesia has sought to press state institutions to follow up on its
>findings and recommendations, the attorney general's office has so far
>refused to even discuss the commission's findings over killings and riots in
>May and November of 1998.
>
> The AHRC says the failings in the judiciary and the public prosecution
>have spawned impunity not only to the perpetrators of recent abuses, but
>also those who involved in the 1965 massacre when more than a million people
>were killed and a large number of others being imprisoned.
>
> The recent passage of a law on a truth and reconciliation commission
>has caused deep anxiety, for example. Instead of properly addressing the
>massive rights violations committed under the previous regime, the
>legislation seems intent upon protecting the perpetrators from any
>subsequent attempts to hold them legally responsible for their actions, the
>AHRC says.
>
> The law stipulates that mutual forgiveness between perpetrator and
>victim is a precondition for compensation, restitution and rehabilitation.
>
> "In the event that the perpetrator of the crime is unwilling to be a
>party to this charade, the only alternative is for the case to go to an as
>yet untested ad hoc human rights court, which may involve considerable time
>and expense," the AHRC says.
>
> For more details, please visit the AHRC's Web site at:
><
http://www.ahrchk.net> or call (852) 2698-6339
>
> # # #
>
> About AHRC The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional
>non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in
>Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
>
>
>
>
>CKinSF
