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UPDATE (Indonesia): Attack on supporters of Munir outside Jakarta court

November 17, 2005

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

17 November 2005

[RE: UA-164-2004: The family receives death threats for demanding an impartial inquiry into the death of Munir; UP-30-2005: Unveiling of suspect in Munir's death may end further inquiries; UP-47-2005: State intelligence officers delay Munir investigation; UP-72-2005: Mandate of fact-finding team into Munir's murder should be extended and made more effective; UP-83-2005: Police fail to follow up on fact-finding report into Manir case; President does not react to requests for monitoring of the investigation; UP-96-2005: Trial of Pollycarpus ignores fact-finding team reports; UP-125-2005: President and Parliament must audit the police investigation performance in Munir's case]
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UP-139-2005: INDONESIA: Attack on supporters of Munir outside Jakarta court
 
INDONESIA: Attack on the human rights defenders; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you regarding an attack made today on several human rights activists and supporters who held demonstrations at the Central Jakarta District Court before the scheduled court hearing into the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.

It was reported that at least ten unidentified men attacked the crowd of about 20 people in the court's parking lot. Three of the victims were members and volunteers from Kontras (The Commission for Disappearance and Victims of Violence), a human rights organization based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The others included several women, mothers of the victims of the May 1998 tragedy. From the beginning of the court process, these mothers have been being actively supporting Munir's case. The people were demanding that other alleged suspects should be brought into the case proceedings. The attackers ripped the posters, leaflets and placards of Munir's case carried by the people. One of the activists named Chrisbiantoro was hit with a hard object wrapped with newspaper. The activists and supporters were also ridiculed. It was reported that some women who were wearing T-shirts with Munir's picture on it, were forced to take them off. Other civilians who were inside the court premises, were also pushed and driven out by the attackers.

The AHRC is gravely concerned that such an attack took place right at the very premises of the district court. This use of gangs to attack and intimidate human rights defenders is particularly common in Indonesia.

We therefore urge your strong intervention into this matter. Please IMMEDIATELY send an appeal letter to the Government of Indonesia and urge that it launch a full investigation into this attack and establish whether it is linked to the state intelligence apparatus.  

To see our previous Urgent Appeals regarding Munir's case, please visit:

- UA-164-2004: The family receives death threats for demanding an impartial inquiry into the death of Munir
- UP-30-2005: Unveiling of suspect in Munir's death may end further inquiries
- UP-47-2005: State intelligence officers delay Munir investigation
- UP-72-2005: Mandate of fact-finding team into Munir's murder should be extended and made more effective
- UP-83-2005: Police fail to follow up on fact-finding report into Manir case; President does not react to requests for monitoring of the investigation
- UP-96-2005: Trial of Pollycarpus ignores fact-finding team reports   
- UP-125-2005: President and Parliament must audit the police investigation performance in Munir's case

Urgent Appeals programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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UPDATED INFORMATION:

Victims: about 20 human rights activists and supporters, including three activists from Kontras; the three are Chrisbiantoro, Daud and Paulus. Some are mothers of the victims of the May 1998 tragedy.
Alleged perpetrators: At least 10 hired thugs, in a larger group of around 50 persons
Date of the incident: At about 9:30am on 17 November 2005
Please of the incident: Car park area of the Central Jakarta District Court

On 17 November 2005, at least ten men attacked about 20 human rights activists and supporters holding a demonstration at the Central Jakarta District Court before the scheduled court hearing into the murder of Munir Said Thalib, a human rights lawyer.

At around 9:30am, the group was at the car park area of the district court carrying banners critical of the military, with the names of several persons who may have been involved in Munir's murder who they were calling to be held responsible.

When one of the Kontras activists started shouting the name of Muchdi and Nurhadi, two intelligence officers due to appear at the court that day, suddenly around 10 persons attacked the crowd. They broke posters, leaflets, banners, and other material. Then they started to ridicule the people, calling them brainless monkeys. They intimidated and hit the activists. They pushed the mothers to take off their t-shirts. There was a lot of yelling between the attackers and the activists (3 men). They hit the head of at least one activist with a newspaper containing something inside. They pushed the civilians out of the court.

Although there are usually many police on security at the court, only one was seen to intervene.

The information strongly suggests that the attack could have been made by a paramilitary group. There are reports that the attackers claimed to be members of the East Indonesia Student Union. Observers suggest that the attack was intended to intimidate the public and those who sympathize with Munir. It was also suggested by Kontras that the attack on civilian court observers was connected with the state intelligence agency. The incident happened just before two persons, Muchdi PR and Nurhadi, two intelligence who were alleged to have been involved in Munirs murder, were about to be examined by the court.

Kontras is expected to file a formal complaint before office of the Central Jakarta District Court and Metrojaya provincial police on November 18.

SUGGESTEDACTION:
Please send an appeal letter to the persons listed below and express your serious concern about this matter. Please ask the relevant Indonesian government authorities to conduct a full investigation into this attack.

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Dear ____________,

Re: INDONESIA: Attack on supporters of Munir outside Jakarta court

Victims: about 20 human rights activists and supporters, including three activists from Kontras; the three are Chrisbiantoro, Daud and Paulus. Some are mothers of the victims of the May 1998 tragedy.
Alleged perpetrators: At least 10 hired thugs, in a larger group of around 50 persons
Date of the incident: At about 9:30am on 17 November 2005
Please of the incident: Car park area of the Central Jakarta District Court
 
I am shocked to learn that about 20 persons who gathered outside of the Central Jakarta District Court to support Munir's case were attacked by at least 10 unknown hired thugs on 17 November 2005. The victims were holding a demonstration calling for justice for Munir during the scheduled court hearing.

I have also learnt that one of the people named Chrisbiantoro was attacked with a hard object wrapped with newspaper. The attackers ripped up posters, leaflets, and placards in support of Munir's case carried by the people. I was also informed that some women, who were at the time wearing T-shirts with Munir's picture on it, were forced to take them off.

I am very concerned that such an attack took place right at the very premises of the district court, which is a threat not only to due process in this case but an assault on the integrity of the Indonesian judiciary as a whole. I therefore strongly urge you to order immediately a full investigation into what occurred and who was responsible.

I look for your urgent intervention into this matter.


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SEND A LETTER TO:

1. Inspector-General Firman Gani
Chief of the Metrojaya Provincial Police
Jl. Gatot Subroto
Jakarta
INDONESIA
Tel: +62-21-523 4001
Fax: +62-21-522 5646

2. Gen. Sutanto
Chief of National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62-21-721 8012
Fax: +62-21-720 7277

3. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono
President
Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace
Jakarta Istana Negara
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 384 5627 ext. 1003
Fax: +62 21 345 7782

4. I Made Karna
Chairperson
The District Court of Jakarta Pusat
Jl. Gajah Mada
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA

5. Mr. Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia
Jl. Latuharhary No. 4B Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3925230
Fax: +62 21 3151042/3925227
E-mail: info@komnasham.or.id

 

 

6. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative for human rights defenders
Att: Ben Majekodunmi
Room 1-040, C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: bmajekodunmi@ohchr.org

 

 

7. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Att: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (general)
E-mail: lventre@ohchr.org

 

 

 

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-139-2005
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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.