The Jakarta Post
November 26, 2001
UN not impressed with Indonesia's rights record
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The United Nations Committee against Torture has given a virtual thumbs-down
to an Indonesian report on its compliance with internationally accepted
standards, calling on Jakarta to make better efforts to prevent future
abuses
and to punish past perpetrators.
The committee specifically called for the prosecution of people responsible
for the violence that took place in East Timor between January and October
1999, the last months of Jakarta's control of the territory.
It urged Indonesia to cooperate fully with the United Nations Transitional
Administration for East Timor (UNTAET), especially in providing assistance
with investigations and court proceedings.
The committee, during its annual meeting in Geneva, issued its conclusions
and recommendations on Indonesia after reviewing a report submitted by
the
Indonesian government, according to the United Nations Human Rights
Commission on Friday.
As one of the 126 states that are party to the Convention against Torture,
Indonesia is required to present periodic summaries of its efforts to
put the
convention's provisions into effect.
Nugroho Wisnumurti, Indonesia's permanent representative to the United
Nations in Geneva, highlighted Indonesia's efforts and progress in promoting
human rights in the country on Tuesday.
The progress was duly noted by the committee.
This includes continuing efforts to reform the legal system, the inclusion
of
human rights articles in the Constitution, the establishment of human
rights
courts and the formal separation of the police and the military.
Besides the human rights violations in East Timor, dozens of other similar
cases that occurred in other places in Indonesia, including Jakarta have
not
been heard in court.
While there was never any shortage of investigations, only a few of these
eventually reached a court of law. When they did, the punishment was often
seen as too lenient.
The Indonesian report was reviewed by a panel of 10 independent experts.
They gave Jakarta another rap on the knuckles for failing to give access
to
an official appointed by the torture committee to make on-site investigations
in the country.
"There was a lack of response by the Government to communications
sent by the
Special Rapporteur on torture, and he was not invited to visit the country,
despite requests dating back to 1993," it said.
It added that the rapporteur be invited to visit Indonesia, including
conflict areas.
The committee recommended, among other things, that Indonesia:
* establish an effective, independent complaints system to undertake
prompt
investigations into allegations of ill-treatment by police and other
officials;
* amend penal legislation so that torture and related offenses are strictly
prohibited under criminal law, in keeping with Convention standards;
* ensure that all persons, including senior officials, who were involved
in
the perpetration of torture are prosecuted;
* ensure that the ad hoc human rights court on East Timor has the capacity
to
consider the many human rights abuses that were alleged to have occurred
there between 1 January 1999 and 25 October 1999.
The panel of experts also cited concern about "a climate of impunity"
for
torture committed in Indonesia and about a large number of allegations
of
such maltreatment by the police, the army, and paramilitary groups.