Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Foreign and local human rights watchdogs called on Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and US President Barack Obama to address human rights violations in Indonesia during their state visits to Indonesia this month.
Gillard is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Monday and Obama, who has twice postponed his planned visits, is scheduled to arrive in the capital on Nov. 9.
Activists drew special attention to human rights violations in Maluku and Papua, from where fresh videos and testimonies of abuses committed by security forces have been trickling out. At least two videos depicting the torture of Papuans allegedly by security forces have hit the Internet.
The Sydney Morning Herald released an article revealing the torture of about 12 Maluku political activists reportedly by members of Detachment 88, Indonesia's elite counterterrorism squad, which was "funded and trained by Australia and the US".
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Gillard "to press for accountability of abusive Indonesian security forces" through a letter it sent to Australia's Parliament House on Oct. 27.
"Prime Minister Gillard should demand that recent cases of torture by Indonesian security forces are credibly investigated, not swept under the carpet," Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.
HRW stated that Australia had reportedly pledged US$35 million over five years for capacity building purposes for Detachment 88 since its establishment in 2002.
The Herald reported that Australia had sent an official to Maluku to investigate claims of violence by Detachment 88. The Herald also reported that the US had "quietly installed a ban on training Detachment 88 members linked to abuses in Maluku in 2008".
Australian Embassy's spokeswoman Jenny Dee said in a press statement that Gillard and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono "will discuss ways to further strengthen the bilateral relationship and increase cooperation across a number of economic, security, development and environmental challenges."
Human rights watchdogs have repeatedly pointed out the apparent impunity of the security forces.
Syamsul Alam Agus from the Commission for Victims of Violence and Missing Persons (Kontras) said that both Gillard and Obama should address violence since "human rights issues fall under international jurisdiction".
Indonesia ratified the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1998, agreeing to prevent torture within its borders.
"Their statements about human rights abuses will not be a form of intervention since human rights issues falls within international jurisdictions," Syamsul said. "Everyone has a right to comment." He added that Indonesia should accept such comments, if they were made, as positive criticism to correct the current system.
The chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission I on diplomacy stated that "Indonesia must take a strong stance against the US on Papua since the problem has been resolved".
Adriana Elisabeth, the head of the international politics department at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, cautioned that human rights issues could be used as a political tool to mask deeper interests.
Foreign powers could use the issues to influence Indonesia, whereas Indonesia could temporarily pay lip service to the issue to polish its image, she said, adding that addressing human rights abuses should be done through the goodwill of the Indonesian government.
"The Australian government may mention human rights issues, but if they do, they will broach the topic in a formal manner," she said. (gzl)