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INDONESIA: Attacks on Human Rights Defenders Reaching Crisis Point

May 28, 2003

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URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

29 May 2003

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UA-15-2003 ­ Kontras office and staff attacked again by militias with
military backing

INDONESIA: attacks on human rights defenders reaching crisis point

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Fourteen months after the attack on the Jakarta office of Kontras which we reported to you in UA-11-2002 (16 May 2002), the office and staff of Kontras have again been violently attacked by civilian militias.  This follows our two recent appeals describing the abduction and murder of two human rights defenders in Aceh on 11 May, and a further attack on the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) by another civilian militia group on 20 May. Clearly, the military are scaling up their intimidation and violence against civil society in line with their military escalation in Aceh.

On this occasion the militia carrying out the attack - the Youth of Military Veterans (Pemuda Panca Marga, PPM) - is even closer to the military than in the previous attack.  The PPM in fact share their Jakarta office with the Military District Command.  The pretext for this attack was the position of Kontras against the current Integrated Military Operation in Aceh.  In a refrain heard across Asia whenever a human rights defender speaks out, Kontras were accused of being 'anti-nationalist' for taking a position in opposition to flagrant rights abuses by the military and government.

The attack involved a group of 20-30 PPM members interrupting a Kontras press conference on the occasion of International Week of the Disappeared (on 26 May) to blacken the name of the human rights defenders.  They locked and sealed the gate 'in the name of the state' when they left the premises and warned of further violence.  The following day (27 May) 100-150 uniformed PPM militias came to the office, shouted vilifying slogans; forced two leaders of the Kontras praesidium, Ori Rahman and Usman Hamid, to sing the national anthem; then proceeded to beat, punch and kick Mr. Rahman and Mr. Hamid and Kontras staff and to destroy the office of Kontras using stones and chairs.  Three staff of Kontras were taken to hospital to treat injuries including an eye-wound.

Incredibly, despite growing calls for a full police inquiry into the incident, the Chief of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has justified and defended the attack, saying that "If Kontras
considers itself as part of the nation, it must do something for the sake of the nation," according to the official Antara news agency.  He also said "This is a negative excess, perhaps, by people who just got tired of Kontras, who always have negative perceptions about the government's actions. While it may be true that attacking the organization is against the law ... maybe they (Kontras) should look at themselves in the mirror."

After standing by during the first incident on the 26th and failing to even attend the second incident despite the public warning given by the PPM, the police have arrested and charged two of the attackers.  However Komnas HAM has denounced the attack as an attempt to stifle the legitimate anti-war movement, and has called for a full inquiry into the incident leading to prosecution of those responsible for this 'serious crime'.

Below is a full description of the incident.  We urge you to write to the Indonesian authorities to condemn this attack and call for the arrest of those involved in the attack and for the disbandment of violent civilian militia groups such as the PPM.  A sample letter and contact details for your action are provided below.  We also urge you to continue your action in response to our previous appeals by signing the online letter to the Komnas HAM commissioners regarding the 1965 investigation at http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/indonesia1965/send.html and also by responding to the most recent abduction and murder of human rights defenders in Aceh at http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2003/450/


SAMPLE LETTER

Your Excellency

Civilian militia groups destroying the office and beating the leaders of Kontras for the second time in 14 months.  Abduction and murder of human rights defenders in Aceh.  Violent threats by a 1,000-strong gang designed to stop Komnas HAM's investigation into the 1965 massacre.  Clearly there is a crisis in your government's ability to protect human rights defenders. This latest violent attack on the leaders, staff and office of Kontras (26 and 27 May) during their commemoration of the International Week of the Disappeared is the latest example of the overt actions of the military and the militia groups they sponsor to silence criticism of gross violations of human rights in Indonesia.  Madame President, I urge you to act decisively to arrest this situation so that the Indonesia's democracy does not slide back into New Order repression.  It is vital that those carrying out these violent attacks on human rights defenders be brought to justice.  Further, a program of disbandment of violent civilian militia groups must begin, and military sponsorship of such groups must be investigated and arrested. Members of the military organising violence and threats against human rights defenders in Aceh, Jakarta, Papua and elsewhere must be brought to civilian courts in order to give minimal protection for those struggling for human rights.  The arrest and trial of those responsible for the latest attack on the Kontras office is the least the international community can expect in addressing the current crisis.


Yours sincerely
_______________

 

SEND LETTERS TO


1. Mrs. Megawati Sukarnoputri
President, Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace, Jakarta,
Istana Negara,
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 345 2685 or 526 8726
E-mail: presiden@ri.go.id


2. National chief of police
Commander-General D'ai Bachtiar
Kepala Polri - Markas Besar Kepolisian RI
Kapolri (Mabes POLRI)
Jl. Trunojoyo 13
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta-Selatan 12110
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 348537 or 7207277 or 7260306 or 72014021
Email: kapolri@polri.go.id


3. Yusril Ihza Mahendra
Menteri Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia (Minister of Law and Human Rights)
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan
Jakarta-Selatan 12950
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 314 1625, 513095 or 5253095
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FULL REPORT: Again, the Office of KONTRAS Attacked


Monday, May 26, 2003
14:00   Press conference of Kontras and IKOHI to commemorate International
Week of the
Disappeared.


14:30   Suddenly about 20-30 people from the Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM, The Youth of the Veterans) wearing paramilitary uniform come to the office for a demonstration. The content of the demonstration is protesting Munir (Kontras founder) and KONTRAS for their criticism of government policy in handling the Aceh problem by conducting the Integrated Military Operation. This position and criticism, according to the PPM shows that Munir and KONTRAS are anti-nationalist and hence disrupting the principle of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. In their speeches, they accuse Munir and KONTRAS of being foreign agents, selling human rights for money. Representing KONTRAS, Usman Hamid says, 'we all love Indonesia, our country. But KONTRAS has a different way of showing and expressing our love of the country. And KONTRAS is most concerned with the safety of the civilians in Aceh, and accordingly oppose any form of military operation.'

15.30   The PPM leave the KONTRAS office, locking and sealing the gate in the name of the state.

Tuesday, May 27, 2003
13:30   About 100-150 people with PPM field uniform march to the office of KONTRAS/IKOHI. In front of the office they call Munir (founder of KONTRAS) to come out and meet them. (Munir was not presewnt because he was giving a lecture to the Army Staff College in Bandung, West Java). The angry militias come close to the door of the office. They keep yelling and shouting 'Munir-KONTRAS the betrayer, anti-nationalist, foreign agent, destroyer of the unitary state, pro GAM (Free Aceh Movement)'. Ori Rahman, Usman Hamid (of the Praesidium of KONTRAS) and other Kontras staff, journalists and guests come out to meet them. The militias force Ori Rahman and Usman Hamid to show their nationalism and love for the country by singing the Indonesian national anthem. Ori and Usman refuse, because it is an attempt to insult them. The militias insist, this time by violently pushing Ori and Usman back. Then Ori tries to fulfil the demand by singing the anthem. But before he can finish the song the militias push and beat Ori Rahman, Usman Hamid and other Kontras staff. The situation falls into chaos. The militias keep beating and punching and forcibly break into the office and destroy part of it. With stones and chairs, they break the glass windows, door and all equipment in the front room. They break the chairs, bench, cupboard, tables, hanging pictures, filing cabinet, and all office equipment in the front room. Three people are wounded: Ori Rahman and Usman Hamid (Kontras Presidium members) are beaten and kicked, and Gianmoko (Public Opinion Division) suffers a wound to his left eye. The three are brought to hospital in the evening, but later released.

The militias left Kontras heading to the office of PBHI (Association of Law and Human Rights Advocates), who have a similar position to KONTRAS regarding the government policies. One staff of PBHI gets wounded but they succeed in forcing the PPM to go.

Additional information:

  1. PPM is an organization of the children of military veterans, whose office is at the same place as the office of the military, based on the military structure. The Kontras attack was by the PPM Central Jakarta Branch, whose address is at the same the Military District Command.
  2. During the attack, the police were present but did nothing. Later they said that the masses were too many to handle.
  3. KONTRAS is filing a legal case. The police promised to arrest the attackers, and have charged 2 persons, Furqon and William.
  4. Three people were wounded in the attack. All are from KONTRAS.


At 15.30 figures of human rights organizations in the coalition of human rights NGOs carried out a press conference condemning the attack. Indonesian Human Rights Watch (IMPARSIAL) says that it is an attack to law, human rights and democracy. It asks the police to enforce justice. PBHI says that it is an implementation of Integrated Military Operation carried out in Jakarta. Others, including IKOHI and KONTRAS says that it is concrete example of the rise of militarism and fascism, and the civil society is threatened in the present government, in which the military is becoming dominant over civilian authority.

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-15-2003
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.