Vitorio Mantalean, Bagus Santosa, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid says that the International Human Rights Day speech delivered by the Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Institutions, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, was "empty rhetoric" which does not reflect the real situation on the ground.
In his speech at the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) on Tuesday December 10, Mahendra discussed the development of guarantees and the promotion of human rights in Indonesia since before independence through to the post reformasi era – the political reform process that began in 1998.
Mahendra also declared the government's commitment to resolving cases of human rights violations, including past gross violations, as well as preventing the recurrence of similar cases in the future.
"Yusril Ihza Mahendra's International Human Rights Day speech was just empty rhetoric that is very easily refuted by facts on the ground if the government wants to open his eyes", said Hamid in a statement on Wednesday December 11.
Although Hamid acknowledged that after reformasi many legal foundations and rules have been made to uphold human rights in Indonesia, the reality on the ground is still far from expectations.
Hamid gave an example of the mismatch between Mahendra's statement and reality.
Mahendra asserted that every citizen has the same human rights without discrimination. However, this statement emerged only a few days after the Kuningan regency Government banned the Ahmadiyah congregation from holding a meeting on December 6-8.
"Ironically again, the ban occurred two days after the president echoed the importance of diversity and harmony as a token of the unity of Indonesian society", explained Hamid.
He emphasised that the lack of synchronicity between rhetoric and reality should be a serious concern for the government to uphold its commitment.
Hamid also highlighted that there are still many cases of human rights violations that have not been thoroughly investigated, as well the continued impunity for perpetrators of violations committed by the security forces.
Furthermore, Hamid expressed his concern about the narrowing of civil and political rights in Indonesia, which has been marked by a rise in criminalisation and the repression of peaceful actions, both in the streets and on social media.
"Those who reject national strategic projects are vulnerable to facing criminalisation and persecution. There must be concrete action in upholding human rights and fully resolving cases of human rights violations through a fair legal process", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Amnesty Minta Pemerintah Segera Tuntaskan Kasus Pelanggaran HAM".]
