Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Strong words from human rights activists and grumbles from lawmakers greeted US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the second day of her two-day visit to the country on Wednesday. Rights activists questioned whether Rice had sought Indonesian support for the signing of a Bilateral Immunity Agreement (BIA) during her trip to Jakarta.
Under the agreement, all American citizens – be they members of the US military corps, diplomats or businesspeople – would enjoy immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Activists grouped in the Human Rights Working Group said the government should publicly disclose all it had discussed with Rice during the visit.
The group said if Rice had asked Indonesia to sign a BIA and the government had acquiesced, this would "endanger our public interests, democracy, justice, and human rights values".
"Should the government give the nod to the agreement, we are worried that we (Indonesia) will never ratify the Rome Statute, which is considered a vital foundation for countries once ruled by authoritarian regimes to move toward democracy," Usman Hamid, the coordinator of the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, said. The Rome Statute rules on the establishment of the ICC.
The United States has come under fire worldwide for its failure to respect human rights in its treatment of prisoners of in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. The US-led invasion into Iraq has also drawn condemnation and protest from international rights groups, which have demanded the superpower withdraw its troops.
The immunity agreements are apparently aimed at ensuring American troops are shielded from possible prosecutions in the ICC over the Iraq invasion.
Separately, dozens of legislators refused to attend a meeting hosted Wednesday by the Indonesian Council on World Affairs, which featured Rice as the keynote speaker, in protest against what they said was "ambiguous" US foreign policy. Only 10 out of 40 legislators invited to the event showed up.
"The US only gives empty promises to Indonesia. They promised to supply military spare parts and equipment (to Indonesia) last year, but to date this has not materialized," said legislator Djoko Susilo of the National Mandate Party (PAN), who was among those who boycotted the meeting.
Another legislator, Permadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said he did not attend the event because "I don't want to listen to a US lecture about democracy."
Several legislators who attended, meanwhile, were dissatisfied with how the event was run. House of Representatives deputy speaker A.M. Fatwa criticized the heavy security measures at the venue and complained about the seating detail, which put him in the last row.
"I was told to arrive at 7.30. After the lengthy procedures, it turned out that she (Rice) didn't come until two hours later. This is too much," he said.