Markus Junianto Sihaloho – If he wanted to, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono could clear up the mystery surrounding the alleged murders and disappearances of 13 activists during the turbulent years leading to the downfall of Suharto.
That was the message on Friday from the families of the missing activists, who were believed to have been kidnapped, tortured and murdered by the military's infamous Special Forces unit, also known as Kopassus.
The family members, who visited the Jakarta Police headquarters and Kopassus headquarters on Thursday, were convinced the fates of their loved ones could be revealed if the government had the will to do so, said Mugiyanto, chairman of the Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared (Ikohi).
"These meetings are our message to President Yudhoyono. If he really wants to look for our family members, then he should start doing something about it immediately," he said.
Yudhoyono's human rights record, which is expected to be thrust into the limelight ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia next month, has already been heavily criticized by rights campaigners.
On International Human Rights Day in December, thousands of activists railed against the president for failing to properly address past and continuing rights abuses.
The number of abuse cases reported to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) last year increased to 4,900, up from 4,482 cases in 2008.
Lt. Col. I Nyoman S, head of Kopassus's legal division, welcomed the families of the missing activists to the unit's headquarters in Cijantung, East Jakarta, on Thursday.
Speaking after the private meeting, Mugiyanto said they had told Kopassus that they were searching for bodies of their missing family members, including three activists who were known to have been taken to Cijantung before they disappeared.
"The Kopassus official said none of them were there," he said, adding that they had in fact denied even knowing about the existence of the missing activists.
"We then told them that the families of the missing activists hoped Kopassus would be open and help them by supplying information – even if it was conducted behind closed doors."
Although they did not uncover any information on Thursday, Mugiyanto said the families were heartened that they had even been allowed to meet with Kopassus given its reputation for being secretive and uncooperative, as was previously reported by Komnas HAM and the Attorney General's Office when investigating the matter.
"We are now curious as to whether [Komnas HAM and the AGO] undertook the investigation seriously or not, because we were able to meet [Kopassus] easily and in an amiable atmosphere," he said.
Mugiyanto said the families were willing to help Kopassus repair the bad image it received because of past human rights abuses, but Kopassus first had to publicly reveal what had happened to the activists.
As part of efforts to find the missing activists, the group plans to establish a center for information and solidarity for the victims of enforced disappearances, located at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) office in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
"If anyone knows any information about our missing family members, we hope that they will file a report at the center," Mugiyanto said.
In one of its final acts before new lawmakers were sworn in last year, the House of Representatives passed a motion urging Yudhoyono to issue a presidential decree to establish an ad hoc human rights tribunal to try those allegedly involved in the disappearances.
In addition to recommending the president establish the ad hoc tribunal, the House also urged the government to form new teams to investigate exactly what happened to the activists.
The government was also called on to provide compensation and rehabilitation for the surviving victims and their families.
At least 22 pro-democracy activists disappeared between 1997 and 1998, nine of whom resurfaced with harrowing accounts of torture at the hands of the military.