KONVENSI INTERNASIONAL ANTI PENGHILANGAN PAKSA DISAHKAN

Kawan-kawan sekalian,

Akhirnya, Konvensi Anti Penghilangan Paksa yang telah diperjuangkan selama hampir 3 dekade disahkan secara aklamasi oleh Dewan HAM PBB pada pukul 21.00 WIB (pukul 16.00 Geneva).

Disahkannya Konvensi bukanlah akhir dari perjuangan kami, tetapi justru merupakan babak awal yang baru. Jalan masih panjang, termasuk untuk disahkan oleh Sidang Majelis Umum, Ratifikasi oleh Indonesia dsb. dan kami masih membutuhkan dukungan dan kerja sama dari kawan-kawan sekalian.

Salam hormat,

Mugiyanto

--------------------

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Finally, the long struggled International Connvention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disapperances was adopted in consensus by the First Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 16.00 (Geneva Time or 21.00 WIB) on Thursday, June 29, 2006.

It is not the end of the struggles, but the beginning. There are still long ways to go, and we need still your supports and cooperations.

Mugiyanto
Chairperson of IKOHI

PERKEMBANGAN KASUS PENGHILANGAN PAKSA 1997/1998

Siang tadi, sekitar pukul 12.00 WIB IKOHI bersama KontraS dan keluarga korban mendatangi kantor Komnas HAM untuk beraudiensi tentang perkembangan penanganan kasus penghilangan paksa 1997/1998. Tim Projustisia Komnas HAM untuk kasus ini akan berakhir masa kerjanya besok, 30 Juni 2006.

Tak seperti biasanya, Abdul hakim Garuda Nusantara (Ketua Komnas HAM) akhirnya keluar untuk menemui keluarga korban. Mbak Sipon, Pak Tomo, Ibu dan Bapak Marufah datang jauh-jauh ke Jakarta untuk mengikuti audiensi ini.

Berikut catatan-catatan seputar audiensi tadi.

I. INFO AKSI

Hari/ Tanggal	29 Juni 2006
Isu	Kasus Penghilangan Paksa
Bentuk	Audiensi
Sasaran	Komnas HAM, Tim KPP Projustisia Penghilangan Paksa 1997/1998
Momentum	Berakhirnya masa kerja Tim KPP Projustisia Penghilangan Paksa 1997/1998 pada tanggal 30 Juni 2006
Waktu	12.00 – 14.00 WIB
Tempat	Ruang Audiensi Komnas HAM, Jl. Latuharhary No. 4, Jakarta Pusat
Tujuan	1. Mempertanyakan perkembangan penyidikan kasus penghilangan paksa 1997/1998 yang dilakukan oleh Tim Projustisia untuk masa kerja sampai dengan 30 Juni 2006 2. Mempertanyakan kenapa penyidikan selama ini lebih berkutat pada saksi korban, tetapi miskin penyidikan terhadap saksi pelaku (dari TNI dan POLRI) dan tidak ada pemeriksaan ke tempat-tempat yang diindikasikan sebagai tempat penyekapan 3. Mendesak Komnas HAM untuk memeriksa saksi pelaku dan tempat penyekapan 4. Mendesak agar Komnas HAM membangun hubungan yang menunjang kerja sama dengan intitusi negara yang lain, seperti Presiden, dll. 5. Mempertanyakan korban-korban yang tidak dikategorikan dalam penghilangan paksa
Tuntutan	Agar masa kerja Tim Projustisia diperpanjang, untuk menggenapi pemeriksaan terhadap saksi pelaku dan tempat-tempat penyekapan
Rekanan	IKOHI – KontraS – keluarga korban penghilangan paksa 1997/1998
Peserta	Mbak Sipon, Bapak dan Ibu Marufah, Pak Tomo, Bu Nurhasanah, Bu Tuti Koto, Pak Paian Siahaan, Kakaknya Ucok, Aan Rusdianto, Rahardja Waluyo Djati, Ari Djati, Abdul Harris, Indria, Viktor, Haris, Simon, Sinnal, Veronica, Nelly, Siti, Ully, Agnes.
Pers	Trans TV, Metro TV, Jakarta Post, Media Indonesia, VHR, ANTV, detik.com, dll
Statement	Terlampir

II. JALANNYA AKSI

Peserta aksi audiensi ditemui oleh 8 orang dari Komnas HAM, yaitu :

1. Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, Ketua Komnas HAM
   
2. Zoemrotin, Wakil Ketua Komnas HAM
3. Ruswiyati Surya Saputra, Ketua Tim Projustisia kasus Penghilangan Paksa 1997/1998
4. Lamria Siregar, Anggota Tim Asistensi Tim Projustisia kasus Penghilangan Paksa 1997/1998
5. Suryana, sekretaris Ketua Komnas HAM.
6. Fadilla
7. ?
8. ?

Mengenai perkembangan penyidikan oleh Tim Projustisia, Ruswiyati mengungkapkan sebagai berikut:

1. Laporan kasus sudah sampai pada tahap analisis hokum, yaitu pemenuhan unsur PHB

2. Laporan tersebut akan dibawa pada sidang paripurna Komnas HAM yang berlangsung hari ini juga.

3. Untuk pemeriksaan saksi-saksi, Tim sudah memeriksa 54 saksi korban, 11 saksi dari POLRI dan 1 saksi dari TNI (purnawirawan)

4. Ada kesulitan dalam pemeriksaan saksi pelaku dan untuk itu, sudah dilakukan upaya-upaya sebagai berikut :

- Mengirimkan surat kepada Mabes TNI untuk melakukan pemanggilan terhadap beberapa perwira TNI dan meminta berkas-berkas Tim Mawar 1998. Sampai saat ini surat dari Komnas HAM masih belum ditanggapi oleh TNI

- Mengirimkan surat kepada Kejaksaan Agung

- Mengirimkan surat kepada Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Pusat, dalam rangka pembuatan surat pemanggilan paksa

5. Ada kesulitan dalam pemeriksaan saksi korban, di mana Andi Arief, Pius Lustrilanang dan Desmon J. Mahesa tidak bersedia memenuhi panggilan Komnas HAM.

6. Total korban adalah 14 orang, tidak termasuk Gilang.

7. Dalam waktu dekat, Tim berencana untuk melakukan kunjungan ke Pulau Untung Jawa, sebab ada informasi bahwa di sana ada petunjuk mengenai satu atau lebih korban yang sampai sekarang ini masih hilang.

8. Tim akan melakukan pemanggilan paksa.

9. Tim Projustisia akan mengajukan perpanjangan masa kerja selama 2 bulan dalam sidang paripurna Komnas HAM.

Atas keseluruhan penyidikan yang dilakukan Komnas HAM atas kasus penghilangan paksa 1997/1998 ini, A.H. Garuda Nusantara mengemukakan sebagai berikut:

1. Ada permasalahan saksi-saksi yang tidak besedia memenuhi undangan Komnas HAM, terutama dari TNI. Komnas sudah menyurati TNI dan dijawab oleh Babinkum bahwa ketidakhadiran itu dikarenakan oleh bahwa kasus tersebut terjadi di masa lalu. Sehingga harus ada persetujuan DPR dulu untuk mengadakan Pengadilan Ad Hoc khusus untuk kasus ini. Komnas sendiri tidak menganut pendapat Babinkum tersebut.

2. Komnas sudah menyurati Presiden untuk memberi dukungan bagi penyidikan kasus ini, namun belum ditanggapi.

3. Komnas sedang menjalankan upaya pemanggilan paksa, melalui kerja sama dengan Pengadilan Negeri dan Kejaksaan Agung.

4. Komnas juga sedang mengupayakan untuk melakukan kunjungan ke tempat-tempat penyekapan, seperti Mabes TNI, Markas Kopassus Cijantung, dan beberapa Kodim.

5. Terlepas dari kendala di atas, Komnas akan tetap meneruskan penyidikan atas kasus ini, sesuai kewenangan dalam UU No. 26.

6. Komnas bersikap terbuka dan tidak berniat untuk menutup-nutupi sesuatu. Justru Komnas akan menyambut baik jika media mengkomunikasikan kerja Komnas ini dan memberitakan pula bahwa ada sikap yang tak kooperatif dari TNI dan Kejakgung dalam penanganan kasus ini.

7. Komnas tidak hanya berkutat di aspek taknis yuridis formal, sebab selama ini setiap institusi mengedepankan tafsir yang berbeda-beda mengenai hukum yang ada. Dan hal tersebut tidak akan memberikan sesuatu yang berarti pada perkembangan kasus. Melainkan Komnas menyadari bahwa kerja ini adalah juga kerja politik. Komnas HAM selama ini juga berhubungan dengan Komisi III DPR untuk mendapatkan dukungan politik.

8. Komnas tidak akan terburu-buru dalam mengambil kesimpulan. Jika masih ada yang kurang, tentu Komnas akan berupaya memenuhinya.

9. Secara pribadi, Garuda sepakat bahwa kasus ini bukanlah kejahatan masa lalu, melainkan kejahatan yang masih berlangsung hingga sekarang.

10. Secara pribadi melontarkan bahwa jika perlu, silahkan mengaudit performa kerja institusi-institusi negara yang mengurus penanganan kasus PHB : Komnas HAM – DPR – Kejaksaan Agung. Dari situ akan tampak, di mana kemandekkan itu terjadi, apakah di Komnas, DPR, atau Kejakgung?

Convention on Disappearances as Priority Agenda of the UN CHR

THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IS A PRIORITY ISSUE FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL.

The question of an International Convention against Enforced Disappearances was one of principal themes mentioned in speeches made during the inaugural session of the new UN Human Rights Council on Monday June 19th in Geneva.

The Human Rights Council is a new UN organ which replaces the Commission on Human Rights founded in 1945 and that had as its first outcome the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Its history afterwards was indeed contradictory as it continued to produce important standard setting documents but had little influence on the ground for the protection and promotion of human rights. Many years have therefore gone by who were witnesses to genocide, repression and political persecution in all corners of the world with little or no immediate response from the UN.

However much of the debate on the Commission and the Council is not only theoretical for FEDEFAM (Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees) and other organizations of families and survivors of grave human rights violations, but in a certain sense extremely dangerous as it has given to States the perfect excuse for a paralysis in the consideration of human rights during several months. In March this year the Commission was effectively closed down in a very controversial decision. Weak as it may have been the Commission was at least functioning and the Council had not even began its activity.

The Council promises an important new hierarchy for human rights on the international agenda but how that is to be achieved is still unknown. The chosen tool is
a public periodic review process (every 4 years) of the situation of human rights in each of the Council`s 47 member States. But we do not know what will happen with the rest of the 140 other countries members of the UN and above all if it will be prepared to examine the situation in the US, the world power that was the chief promotor of the Council but was significantly absent for its inauguration. The US is not even a member of the Council and it is feared that it will try to constantly undermine its more
decisive initiatives as together with Israel, it finally voted against its creation in the UN General Assembly last March.

This ambience of general scepticism towards the Council has been so strong among human rights activists that generally speaking they have not travelled to Geneva for its inauguration. Unlike the sessions of the Commission it was not at all difficult
to get good seating in the space reserved for NGOs.

The only two sectors present for the occasion were both organizations who are trying to win approval for the International Convention against Enforced Disappearances and representatives of indigenous peoples who are trying to get the Council’s support for a Declaration on the Rights of native peoples. That is to say that the approval of these two documents by the Council before it ends its session on June 30th has now become a lithmus test for its future credibility. A failure to act on either of these two texts will provoke even greater scepticism about the possibility of the UN engaging in a effective
action on behalf of human rights in todays world.

Judging from the speeches we have been hearing, it would seem that there is finally a clear awareness among the majority of States that much is at stake in the debate on the Convention against Enforced Disappearances.

The UN General Secretary himself Kofi Annan in his inaugural speech surprised us when he said:

“The Commission has also bequeathed to you two vital documents- the draft Convention on Enforced Disappearances and the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. You have a chance, by considering and approving those instruments at the earliest opportunity, to start your work with a tangible achievement – one that will bring hope to large groups of people who have lived in a dark shadow
of fear. “

During the speeches of foreign ministers heard during all the day there were many explicit mentions of the need to approve the Convention on Enforced Disappearances. One could highlght the words of Jorge Taiana (Argentina), Paulina Veloso (Chile), Belela Herrera (Uruguay), the joint statement of the European Union, Japon, among many others.

During the afternoon Mr. Philippe Douste Blazy, Foreign Minister of France, convened a press conference which was also attended by Minister Taiana from Argentina and representatives of Belgium, Chile, Spain and Mexico whose Ambassador Luis Alfonso del Alba is chairing the Human Rights Council itself. The principal international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, International Commission of Jurists, International Federation on Human Rights (FIDH) and Human Rights Watch made a joint statement and FEDEFAM also distributed among journalists our own statement. The objective of meeting with the press was to promote the Convention, and France expressed its intention, if necessary, to request a vote from Council members although the ideal outcome would be that the Council support the initiative by a consensus resolution.

The delegations of FEDEFAM, AFAD (Asian Federation on Involuntary Disappearances) and We Remember (Belarus) present in Geneva are very pleased with this first day of the Council and hopeful of a positive outcome.

There is now an intense lobby program ahead. Marta Vasquez (Mothers of Plaza de Mayo –Founding Line) will address the Council itself on Thursday and on Friday there will be the launch event in a parallel meeting of an NGO Coalition in favour of the Convention. That same day an open letter to the Council in support of the Convention signed by leading world personalities will be handed over to Ambassador del Alba.

On Monday June 26th there will be a special evening event in the “Memorial Garden of the Disappeared” which will be attended by French Ambassador Bernard Kessidjan who chaired the Working Group that approved the draft Convention. And from Tuesday 27th on comes the moment of truth when the debate on the Convention is scheduled and a decision has to be taken by the Council before Friday 30th.

France has already prepared the necessary resolution and has secured sponsors from all regions. However not all doubts have so far been dissipated. We know there is opposition from many very important countries such as Russia, China, USA and India. We have repeatedly heard those voices during the drafting process in the Working Group. The doubt now is about their current position. We believe that in the end as it is a Convention those States in disagreement always have the option of not signing nor ratifying the instrument. What is important to us is that there is a vast majority of States who want to do something about enforced disappearances and they cannot have their hands tied by those few but very powerful countries. Families of the victims and survivors have suffered in that situation for too many years. It is for this reason that we say:

Convention Now! For the Right not to be Disappeared.

Geneva June 20th 2006

Patricio Rice
FEDEFAM (Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees)

Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo President Speech in UN HRC

Address of Marta Ocampo de Vasquez to the UN Human Rights Council
June 22, 2006 in Geneva

Your Excellencies Mr President, Madame High Commissioner, distinguished Delegates, friends and NGO colleagues.

I am still asking myself why am I here before you today ....

And that question has brought me to reflect on the last thirty years of my family life, overshadowed during the Argentine Military Dictatorship(1976-83) with the abduction and enforced disappearance of my daughter, Maria Marta, together with her husband Cesar, an event which took place on that evil night of May 14th 1976. They were taken away from us and never again could we know of them as with many other thousands of victims. They were entered into a tunnel of darkness out of which they could never return.

With my husband, an Argentine diplomat, we began our search believing and hoping most innocently for their quick return. It was the love for my daughter that impelled me into this struggle and it was that which has guided and sustained me during these long thirty years which I have travelled in the defense of human rights.

In May 1977 I joined the fledging movement of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, then sarcastically called the `Mad Women’ by the authorities. Together with those fellow women I began a learning process. I began to realize that I was not only searching for my own daughter and son-in-law, but for all the disappeared sons and daughters of Argentina, and of Latin America, and today for all the Desaparecidos around the world.

When I discovered that my daughter had been pregnant when taken, I joined the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo and began to learn of another most painful and harsh experience, the search for my grand child whom I have not yet been able to locate.

I have participated in many activities for the disappeared both in Argentina and in other countries. I represented the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo at the First Congress of the Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees - FEDEFAM - held in Costa Rica in January 1981.

I was present at the Paris Colloquium in 1981. Many images from then are recorded forever in me and what I experienced then has been fulfilling itself on the long road I have travelled. And that has led me to new and enriching experiences.

On many occasions I have assisted meetings of the UN Commission on Human Rights. In 1999 I was elected president of FEDEFAM a position I held until November 2003. I participated as FEDEFAM delegate in the Open Ended Intersessional Working Group entrusted with drafting a binding legal instrument for the protection of all persons against Enforced Disappearances, and convened by the UN in Geneva.

Currently I am President of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo (Founders Line) Association.

Last September 2005 the Sixth Meeting of the Intersessional Working Group, under the wise and
skillful leadership of Ambassador Kessejian, approved by consensus the draft of an International Convention for the Protection of all Persons against Enforced Disappearances. That was an occasion for much celebration and hope for all of the NGOs present and above all for the representatives of FEDEFAM who had firmly defended and presented the opinions and objectives of the 18 associations of families who are members of the Federation. Personally I felt I had been able to faithfully transmit the position of mothers, grandmothers and family members from Argentina.

However, distinguished delegates, we flag you to say our struggle still goes on ..until the draft Convention be approved by the General Assembly. We will always continue to defend human rights.

Mr. Chairperson

Impunity has been the hallmark characteristic of the practice of enforced disappearances . And that is why NGOS require the full application of justice in every country affected. It is why we are concerned about the way the international law for the protection of human rights is excercised and respected, and on the creation of legal mechanisms which set out sanctions and impede the perpetration of this crime against humanity.

I want to share with you the great importance which families and NGOs attach to an International Convention against Enforced Disappearances. We have been able to advance in this process by understanding the gravity of its violation of several fundamental rights, above all the rights to life, security, integrity, the recognition of a legal personality, the right to freedom and not to be submitted to torture or to cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment.

We are non governmental associations, autonomous and independent from all political or religious institutions. We are inspired in the profound democratic vocation of our peoples, and in the principles and rights enshrined in the International Charter of Human Rights and the Interamerican Convention of Human Rights.

Our associations have been born out of the pressing need experienced in countries where the crimes of enforced disappearances have been perpetrated. We felt the need to unite our efforts to try to recover alive those detained and disappeared, to achieve justice for the victims of this crime against humanity, and to put an end to this scourge of humanity which was initiated in the American Continent by military dictatorships, but which today has spread to all regions of the world. The legal, political, cultural and psycho-social consequences of this crime continue to profoundly affect our societies, and will continue to do so for many generations to come.

I would like you to know that after the occurrence of the detention and disappearance of a loved one, we came to the painful conclusion that there were no answers to be found. No recourse existed nor was the Habeas Corpus writ or judiciary protection orders valid. It was then in our despair that we reached out to the international community but only to discover that no suitable instruments existed there. That is why we are here once again, Mr. President, requesting you and the distinguished delegates of the Human Rights Council to finally approve the Convention. We have travelled a long road with both achievements and disillusionments but today we turn to all of you in order that in our world there be no more victims of the crime against humanity of Enforced Disappearances.

The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearances, adopted by the General Assembly in 1992, is very clear when it says: �Enforced Disappearances affect the most basic values of every society respectful of the primacy of human rights and fundamental freedoms.� And it further adds that �Its systematic practice represents a crime against humanity.�

The families of the desaparecidos never have accepted vengance nor violence but have always propiciated peace, truth and justice. In your hands lies the responsibility that finally we may be able to affirm that there will be no more victims of enforced disappearances in the world!

In all my long endeavours I, together with my companions, have always been against all violence and have never asked for vengance. If we defend the historical memory of our peoples it is because events of such collective import have happened that we should always hold them present as they mould our national identity. There are ways to maintain memory of the past alive so that every �Desaparecido� and each victim will know that their passage through life did not go unknown, nor was it all in vain, and that his or her ideals will slowly become reality. Recalling these events then help us to maintain memory alive, and to understand that we cannot leave forgotten in the pithole of oblivion heinous crimes committed against thousands and thousands of victims.

I want to be very clear when I say that in order to prevent inhuman and immoral techniques of violations to civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights we must say a clear NO to impunity.

The families of the desaparecidos have never accepted vengance nor violence but have always propiciated peace, truth and justice. In your hands lies the responsibility that finally we may be able to say that there will be no more victims of enforced disappearances in the world.

All I can say to you now is that I will always continue my work in the defense of Human Rights and against all violations. I will continue to uphold the ideals and principles which the thirty thousand �Desaparecidos� in Argentina adhered to in order to achieve dignity and general welfare for all people. I hope to always continue in the struggle for Memory, Truth and Justice.

www.madresfundadora.com
madreslf@uolsinectis.com.ar

General Wiranto Knows the Fate of the Victims of Disappearances

IKOHI: ‘Wiranto lied and must be held accountable for the abductions’
Suara Pembaruan - June 15, 2005

Jakarta – The chairperson of the Association of Families of Missing Persons (Ikohi), Mugiyanto, says the 14 activists who disappeared between 1997-98 are dead. This was confirmed by the former minister of defense/armed forces chief retired General Wiranto during a secret meeting with a team investigating the disappearance of activists in 1997-98.

"We obtained information that the secret meeting was held at a coffee shop at the Lippo Building on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman on June 10. At that time Wiranto said that the 14 activists who are still missing are dead", Mugiyanto told journalists in Jakarta on Tuesday June 14.

According to Mugiyanto, during the meeting with the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) team, Ruswiati Suryasaputra, Wiranto was asked about the whereabouts of the 14 activists. Wiranto responded only by saying, "They are no more".

For Ikohi, which has been assisting the families of the missing activists, Wiranto's answer is extremely surprising because since the case of the abducted of activists between 1997-98 was uncovered, the TNI (armed forces) has only admitted to abducting nine activists, all of whom were released.

"Wiranto's statement represents new evidence which can renew hopes to uncover the mystery of the disappearance of the activists. The statement must be responded to and acted upon by the Komnas HAM team”, he said.

He added that the families of the abducted activists urgently need to know the whereabouts of their family members as well as who the perpetrators of the abductions are. And if indeed they are dead, were the activists are buried.

Opportunity to communicate
Based on the testimonies of a number of victims who were abducted and then freed, they were held at the army’s elite special forces (Kopassus) headquarters Group IV/Sandi Yudha in Cijantung, East Jakarta. While they were locked up, they were able to communication with several of the 14 activists who have not returned including Yani Afri (alias Rian), Sonny, Deddy Hamdun, Noval Alkatiri, Ismail, Herman Hendrawan and Suyat.

“As the commander of ABRI [Indonesian armed forces, now called TNI], retired General Wiranto has concealed important information from the families of the victims of these abductions. He has lied to the public and for seven years Wiranto has systematically and closely guarded the information”, said Mugiyanto.

Based on Wiranto’s confession, Ikohi is urging the Komnas HAM team to immediately summon and question Wiranto over the matter.

They also believe that meeting at the coffee shop was part of a conspiracy between investigators and the suspected perpetrators and not an investigation in the framework of Law Number 39/1999 on Human Rights.

Wiranto’s summons must focus on his capacity as ABRI commander who received written orders from former President Suharto to “investigate the names of 28 activists through a military operation”. As ABRI commander, Wiranto must be held accountable for the actions of his subordinates. (O-1)


Translators notes:
Wiranto has since denied making the statement and has accused Ikohi of slander and of violating his human rights. According to a report in Detik.com on June 16, Wiranto said that he gave no information whatsoever to Komnas HAM during the meeting “because it was not a fact finding” investigation.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Political Disappearances in Indonesia

Political Disappearances
May 19th, 2006, in Indonesia, History
Guest writer Sarawut Pratoomraj discusses cases of political disappearances in the last years of the Suharto regime.

Political Disappearance: A Neverending Story in Reformasi Regime
“I was shocked when I heard that my son was arrested in 1998, eight years ago. I searched for him everywhere but there was no information. I feel a little hope that he is still alive somewhere.”
- Pak Dionysius Utomo, 60, father of Bimo Petrus.

“…a friend of my son came and told me that my son was arrested by the military in Tanjung Priok. I immediately went to the military station to ask for Yani Afri’s whereabouts. The officers said that he was released and no longer in their custody, and told me to find his friend. I went to look for his friends but they didn’t know. I returned to the military station crying. The officer said the same and showed me my son’s release paper…”
- Ibu Tuti Koto, 68, mother of Yani Afri.

“About 10 people came into my room - two were in military uniform while most were in plainclothes. I was taken somewhere, not the police station. I was psychologically shaken because those who arrested me weren’t police. I was afraid that I would be killed. I was tortured and electrocuted. I am a lucky guy - I survived and not dead or disappeared like many friends. Other people still don’t know if their relatives are dead or alive.”
- Mugiyanto, 32, Chairperson of IKOHI.

Above were testimonies of victims and relatives of victims of human rights violations who suffered under the crackdown of the Soeharto regime in 1997-1998.

Mugiyanto or Mugi, chairperson of the Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI), was a victim of human rights violation. He was an activist in 1998, as many university students were at that time, to campaign to abolish the five unjust acts issued by the Soeharto government namely: act on political parties, act on general elections, act on mass organizations, act on the composition of the parliament, and act on referendums.

Only three political parties were allowed during the Soeharto regime. The activists demanded the change of the regime as it was against the Dual Function of the Armed Forces that supported Soeharto’s authoritarian regime. The government banned his organization by linking it to the Communist Party of Indonesia, an illegal political party accused of subversive acts. Mugi and many students worked underground. He was arrested by the military on 13 March 1998 and released three months later on 8 June 1998, when the then President B.J. Habibie was overthrown. He immediately joined his friend Munir at KontraS, the Commission for Involuntary Disappearance and Victims of Violation, to bring his case to Europe and the Unites Nations.

Mugi worked as correspondent with a Dutch television network in 2000-2001. In his mind were his friends and other people who were arrested at the same period but still missing. He decided to resign from his job and joined IKOHI.

One of Mugi’s friends who disappeared in 31 March1998 is Bimo Petrus, a student from the Department of Philosophy at the Driyakara Jakarta University, and Dionysius Utomo’s son. Dionysius was an administrative officer at Malang Central Mental Hospital. He immediately searched for him when he learned about his son’s case. He went to the government house and many military and police stations but found nothing. Aside from knowing whether his son is dead or alive, when asked for other reasons, he thinks for a while and said with mournful eyes:
Bimo Petrus, one of the disappeared.

“I had a lot of hope in the government during the Reformasi, but it was hopeless. The President has never set up any independent body to look into my case, no response in any way. I need to know, I have the right to know. If he is dead, I have to bury him according to the Catholic custom. I need to charge those who were involved in his disappearance. I hope that violations would stop now. I don’t want to see it happen again - not to any single family”.
Dionysius Utomo, father of Bimo Petrus.

Similarly to Ibu Tuti, her son Yani Afri disappeared on 26 July1997. She asked every government agency but failed. When she heard about Kontras, she immediately went to ask for help. She met Munir who helped her to search for Yani in various military headquarters and government offices and had a personal dialogue with former President Abdurrahman Wahid and Armed Forces Chief Wiranto, but still with no results.
Tuti Koko, mother of Yani Afri.

“I got assistance from KontraS but I cry every time I went there and saw the street singers. I always remember my son. He was poor but he was an artist. He liked to play guitar and sing for me. While my son was still around, he would assist me financially by working as a driver while pursuing his studies. Now, I don’t have any regular source of income…” 1

IKOHI was established in 1998 by Munir and other human rights activists. It held its 2nd Congress in Makassar, South Sulawesi on 7-10 March 2006 and chose Mugiyanto as Chair. The congress was attended by victims and families of human rights violations during the Soeharto regime from 1965 to1998. There were about 80 participants from the west of Indonesia, Aceh, to the east, and Papua. The purposes of the Congress were to review the constitution, mandate, activities; and election of committee members to continue the work and to follow-up the disappeared cases.
IKOHI Congress.

“… after Soeharto, every Indonesian government can’t resolve the issues of the families of the disappeared; there were no compensation, no social welfare, and no solution for the victims of human rights violations. We should do more for our justice. We urge for government commitment and political will for the victims and families”, Mugi explained and added; “The public is not interested with the victims of human rights violations now even when we are in the so-called “Reformasi” system. There are so many social crises in our country that human rights is not a priority. Indonesians try to forget what happened during the New Order period, they have short memory”.

The last words “short memory” seems like the situation in Thailand. Thai people also have short memory with what happened on 6 October 1976 or May 1992 were many disappeared, died or wounded. The disappearance of lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit in 2004 or those who are still missing in southern most Thailand are also quiet. The pains and cries of the families have no meaning.

Indonesia and Thailand are in the process of political reform and should learn from each other. Political reform in Thailand started in late 1990s with the enforcement of the 1997 constitution that stated three main reforms: strengthen the political system (Prime Minister and Senator system), people participation in every level of administration, and human rights protection system. The crisis to oust Thaksin is the second stage of reform. There is still not much progress since political reform in Thailand was initiated more than 10 years ago.

Indonesia should also question its “Reformasi”. IKOHI and strengthening the families to pressure more politicians to work for justice are good examples for people participation in political reform. It does not only benefit the families but also the progress of democracy and human rights in general. “Reformasi” means people participation in every level of administration, state agencies practice the “Rule of Law”, the National Institute undertake its roles efficiently and independently, politicians respect and disseminate the universal standards of human rights, and the government develop the country under the concept of “indivisibility”, which means the economic development of the country is parallel with civil and political development.

The IKOHI task is not yet finished. The strength of the people in political reform should be the strength of human rights. A strengthened people will result to the end of political disappearances and violations of human rights.

Footnote 1: Tuti Koto, Losing One’s Faith in the Law, Healing Wounds, Mending Scars, published by AFAD, 2005, page 61.

Sarawut Pratoomraj is a lawyer and human rights activist from Thailand; Senior API Fellow 2005-2006, visiting Jakarta to conduct research entitled “The Effective Role of Komnas Ham in Human Rights Education”. He can be contacted at tuactive@yahoo.com.

Acehnese Victims of HR Violation Speak

Siaran Pers
Komunitas Korban Pelanggaran HAM Aceh Besar
tentang
Meminta Kejelasan Kelanjutan Bantuan BRA


Kami dari unsur korban konflik telah mengajukan proposal bantuan kepada BRA (Badan Reintegrasi Aceh). Namun sampai saat ini kami belum mendapat kepastian tentang nasib proposal yang kami ajukan. Beberapa hari terakhir kami mendengar adanya masalah di tubuh BRA yang menyebabkan unsur GAM dan unsur LSM keluar dari lembaga tersebut.

Kami bertanya-tanya, apakah masalah yang terjadi di BRA akan berdampak pada nasib proposal yang telah kami ajukan? Apakah bantuan tersebut akan kami dapatkan? Kapan? Kami telah membuat proposal dengan susah payah dan mengeluarkan sejumlah uang untuk mengurusnya. Bagaimana tidak, hanya sebagian kecil dari kami yang bisa membuat proposal, sementara yang lain hampir tidak mengerti sama sekali.

Kami membaca di koran, Ketua BRA, Bapak Yusni Saby mengatakan bahwa dari 40.000 proposal yang masuk, hanya 700 proposal yang diterima dan itupun akan dicek lagi ke lapangan. Pernyataan itu membuat kami bingung, mengingat dalam pembuatan proposal BRA tidak melakukan fungsi pendampingan secara baik terhadap kami selaku penerima bantuan.

Kami meminta kepada pihak BRA agar segera memberi penjelasan tentang kepastian dan kelanjutan penyaluran bantuan ini, dan mengumumkannya secara terbuka kepada masyarakat luas termasuk jumlah dana yang tersedia dan jangka waktu pelaksanaan program. Penyelesaian masalah yang terjadi di BRA hendaknya harus menjamin kepastian bagi korban konflik untuk mendapatkan bantuan secara adil dan mudah.

Demikian.

Banda Aceh, 21 Juni 2006
Komunitas Korban Pelanggaran HAM Aceh Besar


Rukayah Fadhil Hasan
Juru Bicara Juru Bicara

Rohani Utusan korban kecamatan Kuta Cot Glie
M. Harun Utusan korban kecamatan Lembah Seulawah
M. Husen Utusan korban kecamatan Seulimum
Tarmizi Utusan korban kecamatan Kuta Baro

Open Letter on Convention against Disappearances

AFAD
Rms. 310-311, Philippine Social Science Center (PSSC), Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Telefax: 00-63-4546759 * cellular phone: 0063-91779244058 * E-mail: afad@surfshop.net.ph

OPEN LETTER TO THE
MEMBERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Honorable Members to the United Nations Human Rights Council,

First and foremost, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) congratulates you for your election to this newly established body of the United Nations. Together with the global human rights community and the rest of the peoples of the world, we are looking upon this body with high expectations in as far as global promotion and defense of human rights are concerned.

Our Federation, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, was formed eight years ago as an organizational response to the alarming phenomena of enforced or involuntary disappearances in Asia. As we all know, the Asian continent has reported the biggest number of cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances based on the latter’s recent reports. Making the situation worse, there are no human rights mechanisms in our region where victims can use to obtain justice and redress.

For these reasons, since we began our Federation, we had been cooperating with our sisters and brothers in Latin America in lobbying for an international treaty protecting persons from enforced or involuntary disappearances. We had been actively involved in all the sessions of the then United Nations Inter-sessional Open-ended Working Group to Elaborate a Draft Legally-Binding Normative Instrument for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. The finalization of the text on September 22, 2005, which was made possible through the very capable leadership of French Ambassador His Excellency Bernard Kessedjian, was one of the most cherished victories garnered by the families of the disappeared in the world of which families of the disappeared in our continent are an integral part.

Families of the disappeared in our region have been worried that the draft Convention was not adopted by the then United Nations Commission on Human Rights last April. But we are also pleased that the former Commission bequeathed to this body the task of adopting the Draft International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Moreover, we are satisfied that the adoption of the Convention is part of the important agenda of this Council. The speech of United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, urging this body to adopt without delay the draft treaty on disappearances and the support of a number of governments for the Convention all the more makes us optimistic that this important international instrument be adopted by this body during its historic first session.

In the name of the families of the disappeared in Asia, may we therefore appeal, once again to all of you to adopt without a vote the United Nations Draft Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. The families of the disappeared, who suffer the painful consequences of disappearance, deserve no less than the adoption by this newly established Human Rights Council of the United Nations during its historic session. If adopted, this will never ever be forgotten in the history of the global struggle against enforced or involuntary disappearances. For certain, it will in no small measure, contribute to the non-repetition of this crime against humanity.

CONVENTION NOW! RESPECT THE RIGHT NOT TO BE DISAPPEARED!

NEW HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL AND ITS INITIAL DYNAMIIC

NEW HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONVENES FIRST SESSION IN GENEVA, 19 JUNE

The first meeting of the newly established Human Rights Council opens in Geneva on Monday, 19 June, marking a new beginning for United Nations efforts to promote and protect fundamental freedoms worldwide.

This inaugural session, set to last until 30 June, will bring together high-level representatives from over 100 countries and see delegates begin concrete work to allow the Council to build on the recognized strengths of its predecessor -- the Commission on Human Rights -- and flesh out the features that make it a stronger and more effective rights body. The meeting will take place just over a month following the open and competitive election of the Council’s 47 members by the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

General Assembly President Jan Eliasson, who oversaw the intense negotiations that resulted in the creation of the new Council last March, said: “The establishment of the Human Rights Council shows that Member States can overcome differences and deliver outcomes relevant to the people of the world. I expect the members of the Council to address the challenges before them with the same constructive spirit and commitment. We must show the world that the Council means a fresh start in the United Nations’ work for human rights.”

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who proposed the establishment of a new Human Rights Council in his report leading up to the World Summit, said: “I am confident that the Council will open a new chapter in the history of the UN’s work to promote and protect human rights, and I urge everyone to join in the effort to make that happen.”

At this session and over the coming year, the Council will tackle a heavy workload, including establishing the format of the universal periodic review, the groundbreaking mechanism that will allow it to scrutinize the human rights records of all countries. The Council will also set in motion the process of reviewing all mandates and responsibilities of the previous Commission on Human Rights and defining other aspects of the Council’s work, such as the system of special procedures, encompassing over 40 independent experts and groups who investigate issues relating to civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights or monitor the situation in specific countries.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said: “The Council is a momentous achievement, but the hard work is just beginning. The road ahead is fraught with challenges, but it also holds many opportunities. As they take up the solemn responsibility of reshaping the international human rights framework, I urge all Members to put aside narrow considerations and act in the interest of all the people whose rights they hold in trust.”

An Improved Framework

The resolution establishing the Human Rights Council provides the framework for a significant improvement in the work of promoting and protecting human rights worldwide:

-- A “universal periodic review” will ensure that all 191 Member States of the United Nations, starting with the members of the Council itself, will have their records examined in order to improve human rights conditions worldwide. All States must be held accountable for their shortcomings.

-- The Council will hold more meetings throughout the year and for longer total duration than the Commission. It will also have a simplified and more efficient mechanism to convene special sessions to respond promptly to human rights crises.

-- As the Council is elected directly by the General Assembly, the new body reflects the high level of importance given to human rights as something belonging to all people and, alongside development and security, one of the three pillars of the United Nations.

-- Any Council member who commits gross and systematic violations of human rights can have their rights of membership suspended by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.

-- The first election of members to the Council on 9 May was the first indication that the new Council was not “business as usual”. Countries competed for seats in an open and fair election and, for the first time ever, candidates put forward voluntary pledges and comments to promote and uphold human rights to which they will be held accountable.

The Human Rights Council session will be webcast live from 19 to 22 June at www.un.org/webcast.

For further information on the Human Rights Council session, including agenda, list of Council Members and other background materials, please visit www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil.

For media enquiries, please contact: Renata Sivacolundhu, Information Officer, United Nations Department of Public Information, tel.: +41 22 917 1905; or Rolando Gomez, Information Officer, United Nations Information Service at Geneva, tel.: +41 22 917 2326, mobile: +41 79 477 0880.

Kofi Annan Supports the UN Convention against Disappearances

The Secretary-General's address to the Human Rights Council:
Supporting the Draft Convention against Disappearances
Geneva, Switzerland, 19 June 2006 –

Mr. President [Luis Alfonso de Alba], let me first congratulate you -- or rather, let me congratulate the Council on choosing you as its first President.
This choice augurs well indeed for the Council's future work. We at United Nations in New York know you well, from your time in the Permanent Mission of Mexico there. We know you as a most accomplished diplomat and a resolute champion of human rights -- in fact, definitely the right person for this crucial task.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the eyes of the world -- especially the eyes of those whose human rights are denied, threatened or infringed -- are upon you, they are turned towards this chamber and this Council.
A great effort has been made, by Member States and by civil society worldwide, to bring us to this point.
And a new era in the human rights work of the United Nations has been proclaimed.
I trust that all members of the Council are fully aware of the hopes that have thus been raised, and are determined not to disappoint them.
They certainly should be aware, because all of them, in seeking election to this Council, have made pledges both to respect human rights at home and to uphold them abroad. Moreover, the General Assembly has required them to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights, fully cooperate with the Council, and submit themselves to the universal periodic review mechanism during their term of membership.
Their peoples -- and the peoples of the world -- will be watching to see whether those standards are indeed upheld.

Dear friends,
Let us briefly recall the journey that has brought us here. Last year, in my report “In Larger Freedom”, I stressed that human rights form the third of the three pillars, with economic and social development and peace and security, on which all the work of the United Nations must be based.
I argued that these three are interlinked and mutually reinforcing, and are the pre-requisites for our collective well-being. No society can develop without peace and security. No State can be secure if its people are condemned to poverty without hope. And no nation can be secure or prosperous for long, if the basic rights of its citizens are not protected.
In short, lack of respect for human rights and human dignity is the fundamental reason why the peace of the world today is so precarious, and why prosperity is so unequally shared.
I am glad to say that world leaders, at the Summit last September, endorsed this vision.
They resolved to integrate the promotion and protection of human rights into national policies, and to support the further mainstreaming of human rights throughout the United Nations system.
And they accepted my suggestion that, in order to establish human rights at its proper level within the system, they should create this Council, directly elected by the General Assembly, to work alongside the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.
They also resolved to strengthen the Office of the High Commissioner, and the General Assembly has since decided that this Council should assume the former role and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights relating to the work of that Office.

I too wish to congratulate and thank the High Commissioner for the outstanding leadership she is giving in the expansion and transformation of our human rights work. And I urge all members of the Council to give her their utmost support.

Let me also congratulate the President of the General Assembly on the consummate skill with which he managed the negotiations leading to the establishment of this Council, which will -- I am sure -- be remembered as a historic achievement.

For the moment it is a subsidiary organ of the Assembly. But within five years the Assembly will review its status. I venture to hope -- and I suggest it should be your ambition -- that within five years your work will have so clearly established the Human Rights Council's authority that there will be a general will to amend the Charter, and to elevate it to the status of a Principal Organ of the United Nations.

If that ambition is to be realised, the Council's work must mark a clean break from the past. That must be apparent in the way you develop and apply the universal periodic review mechanism; in your willingness to confront hard issues and engage in difficult discussions, where these are necessary to remedy -- or, even better, to prevent -- human rights violations; and in your readiness to make good use of your ability to meet more frequently than the Commission did, and to call special sessions.

What must be apparent, above all, is a change in culture -- I repeat -- a change in culture. In place of the culture of confrontation and distrust, which pervaded the Commission in its final years, we must see a culture of cooperation and commitment, inspired by mature leadership ? which cannot rest only on the shoulders of your President, but must be collective. The General Assembly has given you a good set of rules to start from, but ultimately your success or failure will be determined by your working methods, and by the aspirations and attitudes that inform them.
Yet, whatever its recent shortcomings, the Commission did create many useful mechanisms. These should be retained and strengthened.
I would mention in particular the system of special procedures, through which the Commission made itself not only the promoter but also the protector of human rights. These include independent experts, special rapporteurs, my own special representatives and those of the High Commissioner, and of course the Working Groups.

Together, these mechanisms -- most of which take the form of individual people, chosen for their expertise and serving without pay -- constitute the frontline troops to whom we look to protect human rights, and to give us early warning of violations. By raising the alarm and then investigating, they keep the spotlight of world attention focused on many of our most pressing human rights dilemmas.

They give a voice to the voiceless victims of abuses, and their reports provide a starting-point for discussion on the concrete measures that governments need to take to put a stop to violations, and to ensure that human rights are protected in future.

The Commission also created the first ever human rights complaints mechanism in the United Nations system -- the confidential, so-called “1503 procedure”, which allows complaints from non-governmental organizations, other groups and even individuals.

I trust that this, or a similar confidential complaint procedure, will be retained, to ensure that you do not overlook allegations of gross and widespread abuses in any country. And I hope you will be able also to reach agreement on an additional protocol establishing avenues for lodging complaints under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Non-governmental organizations play an important role in promoting and protecting human rights, at the national, regional and international levels. That is why the General Assembly has required you to build on the practices of the Commission to ensure that -- along with States that are not members of the Council, the specialized agencies, other intergovernmental organizations, and national human rights institutions -- NGOs can contribute to your work in the most effective way.

The Commission has also bequeathed to you two vital documents -- the draft Convention on Enforced Disappearances and the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. You have a chance, by considering and approving those instruments at the earliest possible opportunity, to start your work with a tangible achievement -- one that will bring hope to large groups of people who have lived in a dark shadow of fear.

And there are other urgent tasks that you inherit -- notably that of reaching agreement on issues where the Commission found consensus elusive, such as that of making the “right to development” clear and specific enough to be effectively enforced and upheld.

My dear friends,
As you know, the negotiations leading to the creation of this Council were tough. Not every delegation got all it wanted, as we heard earlier from our brilliant [General Assembly] President Jan Eliassnon. Compromise was necessary, though in the end principles were not sacrificed.
These disagreements and difficulties should not surprise us. If there were no disagreement about human rights we should not need this council!

Indeed, human rights are an inherently sensitive topic. But that does not mean they are inherently intrusive, or antithetical to state interests. Nor should we accept the widely parroted notion that there is a built-in tension, or a necessary trade-off, between freedom and security.
On the contrary, the strongest States are those that most resolutely defend the human rights of all their citizens. And human beings are never truly secure unless their rights and freedom are protected from assault, whether perpetrated by enemies of the State or by those who act in its name.

It follows that those who have sought and won election to this Council must be prepared for debate and disagreement, but must also be united in their determination to uphold and implement human rights without fear or favour. They must recognize, as the General Assembly did when it established this Council, the importance of universality and objectivity -- let me repeat -- universality and objectivity, and the need to eliminate double standards.

Excellencies, dear friends:
You have much hard work before you. In the weeks and months ahead, as you descend into detail and wrestle with issues at the heart of the Council's mandate, I urge you to keep constantly in mind the noble aims that brought you here.

Never allow this Council to become caught up in political point-scoring or petty manoeuvre. Think always of those whose rights are denied -- whether those rights are civil and political, or economic, social and cultural; whether those people are perishing from brutal treatment by arbitrary rulers, or from ignorance, hunger and disease.

The truth is that those denials go together. All too often, it is those who seek to improve the welfare of their communities who become the victims of oppression; and it is the lack of freedom and of legal safeguards that inhibits economic and social development.
On both those essential fronts, this Council represents a great new chance for the United Nations, and for humanity, to renew the struggle for human rights. I implore you, do not let the opportunity be squandered.

Thank you very much.

Konvensi Anti Penghilangan Paksa

Press Release
IKOHI/01-Int’l/VI/2006

Rancangan Konvensi Anti Penghilangan Paksa Mendapatkan Dukungan Pengesahan dari Negara-Negara Anggota Dewan HAM PBB


Mugiyanto, delegasi dari Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang Indonesia (IKOHI) yang bersama dengan delegasi Federasi Organisasi Keluarga Orang Hilang Asia (AFAD) menghadiri Sidang Pertama Dewan Hak Asasi Manusia PBB (United Nations Human Rights Council) menyaksikan mulai munculnya dukungan terhadap Rancangan Konvensi anti Penghilangan Paksa dari negara-negara anggota Dewan HAM PBB yang baru dibentuk itu.

Dalam sidang perdana yang dibuka oleh Sekjen PBB Kofi Annan pada hari Senin, 19 Juni 2006 di kantor Dewan HAM PBB di Jenewa, Swiss dukungan segera bermunculan. Dalam pidato pembukaannya, Kofi Annan mengharapkan agar Dewan HAM PBB bisa efektif dan bisa segera mengadopsi salah satu Rancangan Konvensi PBB, diantaranya adalah Rancangan Konvensi anti Penghilangan Paksa (United Nations Draft Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances).

Dalam lanjutan agenda Sidang Dewan, yaitu First High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council, yang merupakan sidang tingkat tinggi yang berisi pidato-pidato Menteri Luar Negeri dari 47 negara anggota Dewan HAM PBB, delegasi IKOHI mencatat adanya dukungan dari 11 negara anggota, dari 34 negara yang diberi kesempatan untuk menyampaikan pidatonya pada hari pertama. Kesebelas negara itu adalah Swiss, Spanyol, Austria, Argentina, Chile, Luxemburg, Perancis, Brazil, Uruguay, Portugal dan Jepang. Dari sebelas negara itu, hanya 1 negara di Asia yang menyatakan mendukung, yaitu Jepang, sementara sisanya adalah negara-negara Eropa dan Amerika Latin.

Sementara Indonesia, bersama dengan 13 negara yang lain akan menyampaikan pidatonya dalam High Level Segment lanjutan pada tanggal 22 Juni. Menlu Hasan Wirayudha dipastikan akan menyampaikan pidato tersebut. Dalam pidato tersebut, IKOHI berharap agar Menlu Wirayudha juga menyampaikan dukungannya atas Rancangan Konvensi anti Penghilangan Paksa, sehingga korban dan keluarga korban penghilangan paksa di Indonesia dan di seluruh dunia segera memiliki aturan hukum yang mengikat anggota PBB untuk mengungkapkan kasus penghilangan paksa, menghentikan dan mencegahnya di kemudian hari.

Setelah diadopsi oleh Dewan HAM PBB, supaya bisa diberlakukan secara aktif, Rancangan Konvensi anti Penghilangan Paksa ini harus diadopsi pula oleh Sidang Umum PBB yang rencananya akan bersidang Bulan Oktober 2006 di kantor PBB di New York.

Delegasi IKOHI bersama dengan delegasi dari AFAD lainnya, dan jaringannya seluruh dunia merencanakan untuk meluncurkan Koalisi Internasional untuk Konvensi anti Penghilangan Paksa di Kantor PBB di Jenewa pada tanggal 23 Juni 2006. Koalisi ini terdiri dari federasi organisasi korban seperti AFAD (Asia), FEDEFAM (Amerika Latin), Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Federation Internationale des Leagues des Droits de l”Homme (FIDH) dan Humanist Committee on Human Rights (HOM).


Jenewa, 20 Juni 2006


Mugiyanto
Delegasi IKOHI/AFAD
No HP: +62811104495 (sms di Jenewa)
Jl. Kalasan Dalam No 5, Pegangsaan
Telp/Fax: 021-3157915
Email: kembalikan@yahoo.com

KONFERDA IKOHI JAWA TENGAH & DIY

Pada tanggal 15 dan 16 Juni 2006, anggota IKOHI yang berada di wilayah Jawa Tengah dan DIY melakukan kongres organisasi daerah IKOHI wilayah Jateng dan DIY sesuai amanat Kongres nasional di Makassar bulan Maret lalu.



Adapun hasil kepengurusan struktur organisasi daerah IKOHI wilayah Jateng dan DIY sebagai berikut :

Ketua : Dyah Sudjirah/Mbak Sipon (Solo)
Sekretaris : Zaenal Mutaqqin/ Jejen (Solo)
Bendahara : Septi (Yogyakarta)
Bidang Pengembangan Organisasi :
Pak Budi (Semarang)
Nurtono (Sragen)
Bu Sri (Yogyakarta)
Pak Rowi (Purwerejo)
Bidang Kampanye dan Advokasi :
Hastin (ATMA)
Bidang Jaringan dan Kerjasama :
Suyadi (Sragen)
Safuan
Bidang Pemberdayaan EKOSOB dan Psikologi :
Pak Fatah (Ekonomi)
Lawu (Budaya)
Lutio (Sosial)
Utik (Psokologi)


Perlu diketahui bahwa kepanitian berhasil sepenuhnya menyiapkan dan melaksanakan koferda ini secara mandiri; mulai dari perencanaan, pengorganisasian, penggalangan dana, dan teknis pelaksanaan pada hari H. Ini merupakan hal yang membanggakan dan membuktikan bahwa orda sanggup menjalankan sebuah kegiatan secara mandiri.

Diharapkan agar kepeloporan orda IKOHI wilayah Jateng dan DIY mampu menjadi semangat bagi orda-orda IKOHI di wilayah yang lain untuk melaksanakan konferdanya masing-masing.

SELAMAT kepada kepengurusan yang baru tersebut, semoga dapat segera menjalankan roda organisasinya dengan semangat untuk mencapai keadilan bagi segenap korban pelanggaran HAM!

BAGUN SOLIDARITAS MELAWAN IMPUNITAS!!!

Profile of the Victims of the Disappearances in 1997 - 1998

Profil Singkat
Korban Penculikan Aktifis Pro Demokrasi 1997/1998

Menjelang pelaksanaan Pemilihan Umum (Pemilu) tahun 1997 dan Sidang Umum Majlis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR) tahun 1998, terjadi penghilangan orang secara paksa atau dengan kata lain penculikan. Korban penculikan adalah para aktivis dan mahasiswa yang gigih berjuang menegakkan keadilan dan demokrasi di masa pemerintahan Orde Baru.
Oleh penguasa mereka dianggap sebagai orang-orang atau kelompok yang membahayakan serta merongrong negara, karena mereka memunculkan dan melembagakan pemikiran-pemikiran dan ide-ide baru yang menurut penguasa merupakan ancaman dalam menjalankan roda pemerintahan.
KONTRAS (Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan) mencatat ada 23 orang aktifis. Sembilan (9) orang diantaranya telah dibebaskan karena desakan masyarakat luas, 13 orang yang lain masih tidak diketahui nasib dan keberadaannya, serta seorang ditemukan meninggal.

Mereka yang sudah dibebaskan:
1. Aan Rusdianto.
Lelaki kelahiran 13 April 1974 di Purworejo, Jawa Tengah ini diculik pada tanggal 13 Maret 1998, pukul 18.30 wib. Saat diculik ia berstatus sebagai Mahasiswa Fakultas Sastra Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) Semarang. Ia diculik ketika sedang berada di kontrakannya di Rumah Susun Klender, Jakarta Timur. Pada saat diculik, Aan adalah anggota Pengurus Pusat Partai Rakyat Demokratik (PRD). Aan Rusdianto dibebaskan pada tanggal 6 Juni 1998, ketika pemerintah Habibie mencabut UU Anti Suvbersi. Kini ia aktif di Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang Indonesia (IKOHI) dan beberapa lembaga kerakyatan lainnya.
2. Andi Arief.
Mantan pimpinan PRD ini lahir pada tanggal 20 November 1970. Andi Arief diculik di tanah kelahirannya, Lampung pada akhir Maret 1998. Ia menghirup udara bebas tiga tahun kemudian. Pada saat diculik, ia adalah sarjana Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Politik Universitas Gajah Mada (UGM) Yogyakarta. Kini Andi Arief sedang menekuni dunia bisnis dan politik, tinggal di Bandar Lampung.
3. Desmond Junaidi Mahesa.
Sarjana lulusan Fakultas Hukum, Universitas Lambang Mangkurat. Ia lahir di Banjarmasin, Kalimantan Selatan pada tanggal 12 Desember 1965. Ketika diculik, dia adalah direktur Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Nusantara (LBHN) Jakarta. Ia kini menjadi pengacara profesional, dan menjadi pengacara konglomerat Eka Cipta Wijaya, serta pembela Tommy Winata dalam kasus penyerangan terhadap kantor Majalah Tempo.
4. Faisol Reza, laki-laki yang berkaca mata dan lebih akrab dipanggil Riza, kelahiran 1 Januari 1973 di Probolinggo, Jawa Timur. Ketika diculik, ia adalah salah satu pimpinan PRD yang waktu itu beroperasi “dibawah tanah”. Setelah dibebaskan ia dipilih untuk menjabat sebagai ketua Partai Rakyat Demoratik (PRD) yang mengikuti Pemilu 1999. Jebolan berbagai pesantren ini sekarang aktif diberbagai organisasi politik alternatif.
5. Haryanto Taslam, adalah aktifis DPP PDI yang punya jaringan ke grassroot PDI Megawati. Ia kemudian diculik dan beberapa bulan kemudian dibebaskan. Setelah dibebaskan, ia tidak mau memberikan kesaksian seperti yang lain. Ia kini menjadi anggota DPR dan Fungsionaris DPP PDI-P.
6. Mugiyanto, atau kerap di panggil Mugi, dilahirkan di Jepara pada tanggal 2 November 1973. Ketika diculik, ia adalah mahasiswa Fakultas Sastra Universitas Gajah Mada. Ia diculik beberapa saat setelah Aan Rusdianto dan Nezar Patria diambil dari Rusun Klender, Jakarta Timur. Saat itu, ia adalah salah satu pimpinan PRD yang mengurusi bidang internasional. Sekarang ia menjadi ketua organisasi para korban dan keluarga korban penghilangan paksa (penculikan), IKOHI.
7. Nezar Patria, pria yang berkepribadian tenang, dan sering dipanggil dengan Nezar ini dilahirkan di Sigli, Aceh, pada tanggal 5 Oktober 1970. Ia adalah sarjana Filsafat, Universita Gajah Mada. Selama menjadi mahaiswa, aktif dalam berbagai organisasi kemahasiswaan Jamaah Salahudin UGM (1990-1991), Biro Pers Mahasiswa Fakultas Filsafat UGM ( 1992-1996), dan terakhir dia menjabat sebagai Sekretaris Jenderal Solidaritas Mahasiswa Indonesia Untuk Demokrasi (SMID) tahun 1996. Ketika diculik, ia sedang bersama Aan Rusdianto di Rusun Klender. Sekarang ia menjadi wartawan Majalah Tempo.
8. Pius Lustrilanang, lahir di Palembang 34 tahun yang lalu. Ketika diculik, ia adalah karyawan di ISAI (Institut Studi Arus Informasi), Aktivis Aldera (Aliansi Demokratik Rakyat) serta Sekertaris Jenderal Solidaritas untuk Amien dan Mega (SIAGA) bertempat tinggal di Bandung. Sekarang ia membentuk organisasi para militer atau laskar bernama BRIGASS (Brigade Siaga Satu)
9. Pria yang bernama lengkap Raharja Waluya Jati ini akrab dipanggil Jati dan dilahirkan di Jepara, pada tanggal 24 Desember 1969. Ia diculik ketika sedang bersama Faisol Riza berjalan dari YLBHI di Cikini. Ketika diculik, ia adalah salah satu pimpinan Partai Rakyat Demokratik (PRD) dan tengah belajar di Fakultas Filsafat Universitas Gajah Mada (UGM). Pada tahun 2001, Waluya Jati menerbitkan buku esai foto tentang keluarga korban penghilangan paksa yang berjudul “Mereka yang Dipisahkan”. Sekarang ia menjadi Direktur Radio Voice of Human Rights.




Mereka yang Masih hilang:
1. Yani Afri, lelaki yang biasa di sapa Rian, bekerja sebagai sopir dan kelahiran Jakarta 26 April 1971, merupakan korban penculikan 1997, kasus dia diketahui setelah ada laporan dari orang tua korban yakni ibunya, yang bertempat tinggal di jalan dewa kembar RT 07/01 Jakarta Utara, selain sebagai sopir dia uga aktif sebagai anggota Parta Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI), Jakarta utara.
2. Noval Al Katiri, dengan panggilan Noval sebagai pengusaha kelahiran 25 Mei 1967 dia sebagai direktur PT , pria yang bertempat tinggal di Jalan S no 20 Kebon Baru Tebet Jakarta Selatan adalah pendukung berat Mega-Bintang pada Kampanye Pemilihan Umum (Pemilu) 1997.
3. Dedy Umar, dengan sapaan akrab Hamdun, pria kelahiran Jakarta 29 Juli 1954, suami dari artis Eva Arnas. Selain berprofesi sebagai pengusaha yang beralamat di Jalan Kebon Nanas Selatan II/2 Jakarta Timur, dia aktif di Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP).
4. Ismail, sopir dari Dedi Hamdun, yang lahir di Jakarta, dia diculik karena menurut pelaku, korban mengetahui tentang penculikan Dedy Hamdun dan Noval Al Katiri.
5. Herman Hendrawan, pria kelahiran Pangkal pinang 29 Mei 1971 adalah mahasiswa pada sebuah Universitas Negeri di Surabaya (Unair). Mahasiswa yang tinggal di Karang Tengah, Ciledug sementara orang tuanya sendiri tinggal di Pangkal Pinang, Bangka juga pada kegiatan-kegatan yang siftanya politis, hal itu terlihat dengan aktifnya dia bergabung dengan Partai Rakyat Demokratik (PRD)
6. Petrus Bima Anugerah, pria kelahiran Malang 24 September 1973 selain sebagai mahasiswa di Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat (STF) Driyakarya Jakarta, juga aktif dalam beberapa kegiatan politik seperti di Solidaritas Mahasiswa Indonesia untuk Demokrasi (SMID) sebagai pengurus pusat dan Partai Rakyat Demokratik (PRD).
7. Suyat, lelaki kelahiran 1 Oktober 1975 di Sragen, Jawa Tengah. Selain sebagai mahasiswa fakultas sosial dan politik di Universitas Slamet Riyadi (Unisri) Solo, dia aktif dalam kegiatan Partai Rakyat Demokratik (PRD).
8. Yadin Muhidin, pria yang lahir di Jakarta 11 September 1976, setelah lulus Sekolah pelayaran langsung mengikuti beberapa ujian untuk masuk kerja di pelayaran. Bertempat tinggal di Jalan Baru Selatan Jakarta Utara ini bukanlah pemuda yang aktif dengan kegiatan-kegiatan politik. Kesehariannya di isi dengan aktifitasnya berkumpul sama-sama dengan teman-teman di sekitar rumahnya. Kalaupun aktif biasanya hanya pada acara-acara besar seperti buka puasa bersama di bulan Ramadhan dengan teman-teman Musholla di dekat rumahnya
9. Hendra Hambali, pelajar Sekolah Menengah Atas lahir Jakarta.
10. Ucok M Siahaan, mahasiswa Perbanas, kelahiran Jakarta, 17 Mei 1976, beralamat di Jalan Taufiq Rahman 47 Beji Timur Depok. Aktifitasnya tidak begitu diketahui oleh pihak keluarganya selain sebagai seorang mahasiswa apalagi untuk ikut politik-politikan. Pada tanggal 12 Mei 1998 sebelum lengsernya Soeharto, Ucok sempat mengatakan kepada Ibunya bahwa sebentar lagi Soeharto lengser.
11. M. Yusuf, pria yang sering dipanggil Yusuf, dia berprofesi sebagai guru, kelahiran Jakarta 18 September 1969, beralamat di Jalan Raden Saleh II/1 no 7 Jakarta Pusat.
12. Sonny, selain aktifitasnya setiap hari sebagai seorang supir ternyata dia juga aktif dalam perpolitikan yaitu fungsionaris Dewan Pimpinan Cabang (DPC) Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI) Jakarta Utara.
13. Wiji Thukul, yang kerap dipanggil teman-temannya dengan Wiji Tukul, lahir di Surakarta, 03 November 1967, sebagai anak dari tukang becak di kampung kumuh Sorogenen. Seorang penulis puisi revolusioner yang juga seorang organizer rakyat yang militan, hampir semua karya puisinya berisi protes tajam terhadap kediktatoran rezim orde baru. Dan salah satu puisinya yang berjudul "Peringatan" yang dalam satu baitnya tertulis: …maka hanya ada satu kata: lawan!!!, yang diteriakkan setiap aksi aksi rkyat Indonesia. selain menciptakan karya-karya puisi dia juga menciptakan lukisan cukil kayu. Lelaki yang juga aktif di JAKKER (Jaringan Kerja Kesenian Rakyat ) yang termasuk underbouw Partai Rakyat Demokratik (PRD).

Yang ditemukan meninggal:
1. Leonardus “Gilang” Nugroho
IKOHI
Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang Indonesia
Jl. Cisadane No 9, Cikini, Jakarta, Email: kembalikan@yahoo.com