Will Indonesia elect a new would-be fascist leader?

Prabowo, a new leader - a new iron fist?
Aboeprijadi Santoso

Of late Prabowo Subianto, an ex general and former Soeharto's son in law, was often mentioned as a new upcoming leader. Like many concerned journalists in Jakarta , I have been watching and met with him recently. Many said he is a dangerous man. A militarist in blood and spirit, a temperamental soldier, obsessed with the kind of militaristic patriotism and unitarism, an admirer of Singapore 's authoritarian Lee Kuan Yew are among characters many apportioned to him. He claims to be a critic of New Order's economy, but impressed by the kind of capitalistic economy Lee built in Singapore .

Prabowo is said to have cleverly manipulated his worst human rights records in such a way as to make him the one the public is expected to feel sorry with him. He built an image of a man who continued to be victimized ("dizholimi" ). Remember: that image had helped Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, having been accused by Megawati's husband Taufik Kiemas as being "childish", win the presidential elections in 2004. So Prabowo claimed to be a victim of both Soeharto and Habibie regimes for being accused of a "traitor", "maverick", "putchist". The latter two have been strongly suggested by ret. gen. Sintong Panjaitan's most recent book.

At a JFFC (Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club) meeting in Jakarta recently, Prabowo even put himself as a "victim of ABRI (Indonesian Armed Forces)". "East Timor was not my choice, I was assigned there, .. what can I do?" he said. In fact, as often mentioned (see below), he was responsible for the 1983 Kraras (see: http://www.etan. org/et2001b/ april/22- 30/26torur. htm) and 1991 St. Cruz massacres where hundreds of Timorese civilians were killed. He is also proud for the fact that three of more than a dozen activists he kidnapped, are joining his political party, Gerindra.

This military unitarist (NKRI-ist) named Prabowo is now a popular general. He succesfully approached the families of Indonesia 's Founding Fathers who had very different ideas of Indonesia 's unity. Soekarno's daughter Megawati likes him (many feel sorry for her supidity), Hatta's daughters (Meutia & Halida) like him too, even Gus Dur and his intelligent daughter Yenny Wahid admire him. Only Sutan Sjahrir's family refused to support him. The newsweekly TEMPO has destroyed the image Prabowo attempted to build by demonstrating that Sjahrir never supported Soemitro (Prabowo's father) joining the PRRI rebellion and that Soemitro was a CIA political broker.

Many spoke about him with awe. Nonetheless, it's true, Prabowo is charismatic, he made impressive elections campaigns, attracted many (lower) middle class and urban poor with the kind of natonalistic economic rhetorics more at home to what we in Europe would call "right-wing populists".

"This is my second mission," he said at JFCC meeting,"My first was as a general commanding 34 batallions (as Pangkostrad) ." So how would he accomplish it?

Is Indonesia awaiting a new leader - a would-be fascist?

Ikrat Pejuang HAM, 20 Maret 2009

IKRAR PEJUANG HAK ASASI MANUSIA

Kami, Para Pejuang Hak Asasi Manusia (HAM), berasal dari 24 propinsi di Indonesia dan Timor Leste, berlatar belakang sebagai korban Pelanggaran HAM, baik hak Sipil Politik dan hak Ekonomi, Sosial, Budaya menyatakan:

1. Prihatin dengan tidak adanya kemauan politik Negara menyelesaikan berbagai masalah pelanggaran berat HAM dan memenuhi hak-hak dasar rakyat.
2. Prihatin dengan tidak adanya upaya-upaya Negara untuk memberikan perlindungan hak-hak dasar rakyat dari krisis ekonomi, kerusakan lingkungan hidup dan rasa aman.
3. Prihatin dengan penghilangan makna Pemilu, yang hanya menjadi rutinitas lima tahunan, dan ajang bagi elit politik warisan Orde Baru, serta kelompok pro status quo untuk melanggengkan kekuasaan.
4. Prihatin dengan calon legislatif, bakal calon presiden dan wakil presiden yang tersedia dalam Pemilu 2009, umumnya memiliki latar belakang sebagai pelaku pelanggar HAM, pelindung pelanggar HAM, atau yang tidak punya agenda HAM.
Berdasarkan keprihatinan di atas, kami para pejuang HAM Indonesia yang telah menggelar Kongres Pejuang HAM bertempat di Wisma MAKARA Universitas Indonesia (UI), Depok, Jawa Barat pada tanggal 17-20 Maret 2009, menyatakan:
a. Menyepakati bahwa penguatan dan konsolidasi gerakan rakyat/korban sebagai jalan keluar untuk memperkuat daya kritis, daya kontrol dan daya tawar politik yang sejati.
b. Menyerukan kepada masyarakat khususnya pemilih, untuk tidak memilih caleg, parpol dan capres/cawapres pelaku pelanggar HAM, pelindung pelanggar HAM, atau yang tidak punya agenda HAM.
c. Menyerukan kepada masyarakat khususnya pemilih, untuk memilih caleg, parpol, calon presiden dan calon wakil presiden yang pro HAM dan pro rakyat, serta tidak mudah percaya pada janji mereka yang tidak punya jejak rekam keberpihakan terhadap korban/rakyat.
d. Mengajak kepada rakyat yang memilih golput, untuk menjadi golput yang kritis dan aktif dengan mengorganisir diri, serta melakukan pendidikan politik.
5. Mendesak Negara untuk memenuhi kewajibannya untuk menuntaskan berbagai masalah pelanggaran berat HAM dan memenuhi hak-hak dasar pada sisa waktu pemerintahannya.

Atas nama kebenaran dan keadilan, Ikrar pejuang HAM ini kami peruntukan bagi perubahan Indonesia yang lebih beradab, berprikemanusiaan dan berkeadilan sosial.

Depok, 20 Maret 2009

Report of the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances 2009

Dear friends,

On January 6, 2009, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances released its report to the 10th Sessions of the UN Human Rights Council.

The report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 7/12,
covers the period 1 December 2007 to 30 November 2008 and reflects communications and cases examined by the Working Group during its sessions in 2008, and general allegations considered at its eighty-third session in 2007. The total number of cases transmitted by the Working Group to Governments since its inception is 52,952. The number of cases under active consideration that have not yet been clarified or discontinued stands at 42,393 and concerns 79 States. The Working Group has been able to clarify 1,763 cases over the past five years.

During the period under review, the Working Group transmitted 1,203 new cases of
enforced disappearances to the Governments of Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Japan, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Viet Nam, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Of the newly reported cases, 83 allegedly occurred during the same period.

A summary of activities during the last year is presented in a table for each country, with a detailed text description of the areas of activity.

The full reports can be downloaded here:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/disappear/docs/A.HRC.10.9.pdf

IKOHI

Oral Statement, General Segment, 10th Sessions of UN Human Rights Council, Geneva

On Wednesday, March 4, 2009, Mugiyanto on his personal capacity was assigned to make an intervention representing civil society, at the General Segment of the 10th Sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The statement he made was on disappearances in Asia, and the importance of the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2006.

Below is the statement, which can also be seen at the website of the UN Human Rights Council at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/


10th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (2-27 March 2009)
General Segment

Wednesday, 4 March 2009

Oral Statement delivered by a civil society representative, Mr. Mugiyanto


Your Excellency Mr President, Distinguished Delegates and NGO colleagues,

First, let me thank you Mr President for allowing me to speak before this Council as a human rights defender and add my perspective to your work.

My name is Mugiyanto. I have been working for the victims of enforced disappearances in Indonesia (1) for the last 11 years. Since 2003, I have been working as the chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)(2) , based in the Philippines. My activities as a human rights defender are based on my own experience as a victim of enforced disappearance 11 years ago – I was fortunate enough to surface again. Because of my work as a student activist, in March 1998, I was held incommunicado, interrogated and tortured.

Mr President,

I would like to take this opportunity to call for your sincere support for the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, which was adopted by this Human Rights Council at its first session in June 2006. It should be an urgent task for this Council to work towards the effective implementation of the Convention as an instrument for protecting people from enforced disappearances, revealing the truth, delivering justice and providing reparation for the victims and their relatives.

However, we regret that to date, the Convention has been ratified by only nine states, and unfortunately, none of them is from my region. I would like to express our appreciation to Albania, Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, France, Honduras, Mexico, Senegal and Kazakhstan for already ratifying the Convention.

The General Assembly adopted the Convention on December 20, 2006, “by consensus”, and this means that all member states of the United Nations are committed to the objectives and the spirit of the Convention and to give due regard to the Convention as one of the core human rights treaties. I appreciate that my country has pledged to sign and ratify (3) the Convention; however it has not lived up to this pledge yet.


Mr. President,

As the latest report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) indicates, enforced disappearances are still widely committed in many states with over 40,000 outstanding cases, of which 29,000 cases in Asia (4) . It is in this context that human rights defenders again call on the Human Rights Council to urge its members and other states to speed up the process of signing and ratifying the Convention.

The importance and relevance of the Convention goes beyond the human rights violations that occur when someone is disappeared. The Convention is also an important tool to protect human rights defenders working on the issue of disappearances since they themselves have been the target of harassment, murder and disappearance as well.

From the Asian region, we have a case of a very committed human rights lawyer from South East Asia (5) who disappeared in March 2004 for his activity in defending the victims of human rights violations. We also had another case of an internationally well-known lawyer and human rights defender (6) who died of poisoning on the plane in September 2004. In the same year, a 15-year old girl was kidnapped by the members of the army force (7). Recently in January, five tribesmen (8) who had been working to protect the rights of communities and their ancestral domain from exploitative mining, have been disappeared. In brief, in all other regions of the world, many human rights defenders have also been subject to disappearances without any accountability.

The entry into force of the Convention has been so long awaited by thousands of mothers, fathers, wives and husbands, grandparents and all family members of the victims. The crime of enforced disappearances has caused severe sufferings not only to the direct victims themselves, but also to the relatives and the friends of the disappeared. The eternal waiting for his or her return and the constant uncertainty about the fate and whereabouts of the loved ones can amount to torture.

On behalf of all the victims of disappearances and their families, I strongly urge the member states of the United Nations, especially the members of this Council to ratify the Convention without any delay.

I thank you, Mr. President.

Notes:
1 Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI), http://www.ikohi.blogspot.com
2 http://www.afad-online.org
3 During the High Level Segment of the 4th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Indonesian government has announced its will to sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
4 The precise figure according to the WGEID report is that disappearances reported to happen in 79 states with 42,393 outstanding cases. 16,526 cases reported happened in Iraq and 12,297 cases in Sri Lanka.
5 Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit from Thailand was disappeared on 12 March 2004. For further information: http://www.afad-online.org/voice/aug_07/sarosi.htm
6 Mr. Munir Said bin Thalib from Indonesia was poisoned in the plane from Jakarta to Amsterdam in September 2004. For further information: http://www.kontras.org; “Regional NGOs question latest court decision on Munir’s death”,http://www.forum-asia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2054&Itemid=32
7 Ms. Maina Sunuwar was only 15 years old when on 17 February 2004 she was taken from her home by members of the Nepal Army. For further information: http://www.advocacyforum.org
8 Five Mamanwa indigenous men have been missing since 29 January 2009 in Mindanao, the Philippines. They disappeared on the day when they built barricade to block roads to their communities, in order to stop mining. For further information: http://www.lrcksk.org