HRW wants Obama to press Jakarta over rights

JAKARTA POST
Lilian Budianto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 02/27/2010 12:05 PM | Headlines

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on US President Barack Obama to press Indonesia over rights progress, military reform and religious freedom during his visit to Jakarta next month.

The New York-based rights watchdog sent an 11-page letter to President Obama on Thursday.

During his visit next month, Obama and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are slated to launch a comprehensive partnership covering a wide range of issues from education and climate change to military cooperation.

"We urge *Obama* to seize this opportunity to reaffirm that human rights and the rule of law are essential pillars of US engagement in Indonesia," says Kenneth Roth, HRW executive director said in a letter made public on the group's website.

"We ask that you do this by publicly calling for the Indonesian government to make critical human rights improvements and by implementing the Comprehensive Partnership in ways that will ensure that cooperation with the United States leads to improvements, rather than setbacks, in Indonesia's human rights record."

Although acknowledging improvements Indonesia has made in holding up rights values since the political reform in 1998, HRW says Jakarta has fallen behind international standards of freedom of expression, religious freedom and enforcing justice for victims of rights abuses. The letter mentioned a list of rights abuse cases across the archipelago, including treatment of religious minority group Ahmadiyah and political prisoners in Papua.

It also mentioned a list of army generals and high-ranking officials, including Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Maj. Gen. Pramono Edi Wibowo and Col. Tri Hartomo, who retain senior positions in the Defense Ministry and the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) despite their tainted rights records.

Riefqi Muna, a defense researcher with Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said chances were high that the Obama administration might take a softer stance on calling Jakarta to hold up its rights commitment because of its own tainted image and to safeguard economic benefits amid the economic downturn.

"The US is involved in unpopular wars against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which have claimed the lives of many civilians. The US cannot press on Indonesia to heed rights values when they have failed to do so," he said.

Washington waived arms embargo on Jakarta in 2005-2006, but it continues to ban Kopassus from receiving military training and financing from the US government. Kopassus is allegedly responsible for a number of atrocities in Papua, Aceh and Timor Leste as well as in Jakarta.

"Jakarta has to finish up its homework to bring rights perpetrators to court or our bilateral ties will continue to be jeopardized," said Rafendi Djamin, executive director of Jakarta-based Human Rights Working Group. "With the new partnership, neither the US nor Indonesia can afford to strain their ties over repeated calls for justice to be served."