Weekly Update Human Rights in Indonesia – 13-10-2014 Impunity

Weekly Update Human Rights in Indonesia – 13-10-2014

To put it differently: 1965 — or more accurately, the story of what happened to Impunity my father in the years that followed — was never kept secret from me. In fact, I cannot imagine my childhood without these stories. My father recalled his ordeal in a matter-of-fact way, and often with humor. I laughed about his stories about In Dealing With Past Abuses, New President Needs to nasi kepala (‘head rice’): rice which was cooked with so much water (or with very Show Courage little rice) that you could see your own face reflecting in the bowl; and was fascinated by a request my father received from a military officer to write the The Jakarta Globe, 12-10-2014, by Ken Setiawan1 officer’s thesis, which my father did, just so he could read books and write, instead of doing hard labor. My father, Hersri Setiawan, was imprisoned without formal charge or trial, let alone conviction, for ten years. Between 1969 and 1979 he was held at various Inevitably, the reason for my father’s imprisonment was discussed, too. In the places in Indonesia, including on the infamous Buru Island. After his release, he eyes of a young child, after all, prisons are places for people who have done married my mother, Jitske Mulder — who would later publish a book, something wrong, such as stealing. My parents explained to me that my father “Quartering” (“Selamat Tinggal Indonesia” in Indonesian) — on her experiences went to prison because he belonged to a literary and cultural organization called being married to a former political prisoner. LEKRA, Institute for People’s Culture. My father’s ‘crime’ was therefore that he was a member of a group which was not liked by Indonesia’s bosses. Therefore, I learned that sometimes prisons were also places for people disliked by those in power. While I found this unsettling, I also thought of it as fascinating and when I was 6 years old I told my classmates: “My Dad went to jail … for nothing!” — and I was proud.

This almost gives the impression that the darker side of my father’s imprisonment was not discussed. But I knew, for instance, that my father is deaf on his left ear because prison guards tortured him by putting a live cricket in it. I knew, as a very young child in Jakarta, that my father could be arrested at any 1 Ken Setiawan works at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. Her book “Promoting time, and remember my mother’s worried face if he was not home by the time Human Rights: National Human Rights Commissions in Indonesia and Malaysia,” was published in 2013. she expected him to be. The story of how he and his friends remedied headaches

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Weekly Update Human Rights in Indonesia – 13-10-2014 with no medication — by somersaulting so their heads hit the wall — filled me Golkar Party legislator, added that the best way to solve human rights abuses was with sadness. to bury them. Comments like these reduce the killing of at least one million people, the imprisonment and torture of hundreds of thousands of men and When I was a teenager, I accompanied my father to Geneva, where he, as part of women to nothing but a ripple in the ocean. If such horrific events are not a an NGO delegation, testified at the United Nations. At night in our hotel room he problem, then what is? These people, and their stories, should never be was haunted by nightmares. I saw then both his extraordinarily resilience and the forgotten. scale of the trauma that was inflicted upon him. I found it unfair and unjust that what had happened to him long remained unacknowledged. As the daughter of a former political prisoner I have been asked, “What is it that you want?” More than anything else, I want an acknowledgement: I want the Some acknowledgement did come in 1998, after President Suharto stepped down Indonesian government to accept that the 1965 violence was state-sponsored. I following 33 years of authoritarian rule. Human rights issues, such as 1965, want the government to say that what happened was wrong and apologize to all became more debatable. My father could finally publish his memoirs. who have suffered because of it. This does not only include the relatives of those who were killed or former political prisoners such as my father. I am thinking too In 1999, I saw my father’s books prominently on display at a Gramedia bookstore, about people who were forced to kill, and the generation of Indonesians who and in more recent years, international journalists and filmmakers have also were indoctrinated by the Suharto regime. Such an official acknowledgement taken an interest in the events of 1965 — “40 Years of Silence: An Indonesian will, hopefully, help in creating awareness on the trauma that 1965 has inflicted Tragedy” and “The Act of Killing,” for example. All these developments have given on Indonesia as a whole. me hope that Indonesia would be able to finally acknowledge one of the darkest chapters in its history. My father is now nearly 80 years old. I am in my 30s and a proud mother to two young children. Soon, they will be old enough to understand their grandfather’s Nevertheless, sixteen years after the fall of the Suharto regime, critical story. I am sure they will be proud of him. As Indonesia approaches the approaches towards 1965 remain the domain of those concerned with human inauguration of its seventh president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, I hope I can rights, while formal justice remains elusive. Last year, the findings of a report on conclude the story by saying that the people in power today have said sorry for 1965 made by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), was what has happened to people like their grandfather. I hope that Jokowi lives up brushed aside by Indonesia’s political elite. Djoko Suyanto, an senior aide to to his promise of bringing a new democracy to the country. Be courageous, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, stated that an apology was unthinkable: Jokowi. Acknowledge past wrongs and put Indonesia on the road towards justice. the events were necessary to secure the country’s stability. Nudirman Munir, a

Weekly Update Human Rights in Indonesia – 13-10-2014

Freedom of Association Novel had turned himself in at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Heru said, and was questioned for around nine hours at the directorate of general crimes. The questioning continued the next day and the police decided to detain him by 1 p.m. Thursday. FPI arrests: violation of freedom of association? The Jakarta Police had been looking for Novel since Saturday and sent wanted The Jakarta Post, 10-10-2014 posters to all police precincts under their jurisdiction on Wednesday. Heru said The Jakarta Police arrested the hard-line group Islam Defenders Front’s (FPI) that Novel had been moving from one place to another within Jakarta. secretary-general, Novel Bamu’min, on Thursday. He is suspected of organizing Another high-ranking FPI member, Shahabudin Anggawi, who turned himself in last Friday’s violent protest in front of City Hall in Central Jakarta. last Saturday after being named a suspect, may also face the same charge as “He has been detained for further investigation into his role as one of the Novel. He had also been arrested by the police. coordinators of last Friday’s demonstration,” Jakarta Police chief detective of Novel and Shahabudin were named in the FPI’s protest announcement sent to general crimes Sr. Comr. Heru Pranoto told reporters. the police as the coordinators of the protest against the appointment of Ahok, a Heru said that Novel might face a maximum sentence of six years’ imprisonment Protestant of Chinese descent, as governor to replace outgoing Governor Joko for provoking others to violate laws under Article 160 of the Criminal Code. “Jokowi” Widodo, who will be inaugurated as president on Oct. 20.

Besides Novel, the Jakarta Police have named 21 FPI members as suspects. The protest turned into a riot and left 16 police officers injured and damaged However, this has not deterred them from protesting. several cars. Ahok himself challenged the police to disband the FPI due to their repeated violent acts and revealed that the Jakarta-based FPI was not registered Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said members of the FPI and the as a community organization with the city’s administration’s National and Islamic People’s Forum (FUI) were scheduled to demonstrate at the Jakarta Political Unity Office (Kesbangpol). Legislative Council in Central Jakarta to protest again against Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama being sworn in as Jakarta governor. However, several activists have protested the association between the FPI’s criminal acts and the freedom of organization. Fransisca Fitri, the coordinator of “There are around 200 men and women scheduled to protest there Friday,” he the Freedom of Association Coalition (KKB) said that charging the suspects with said. the code was enough of a sanction to punish them. Whether or not an

Weekly Update Human Rights in Indonesia – 13-10-2014 organization was registered at Kesbangpol had no connection with the violent Regional Representative Council, or DPD, and E.E. Mangindaan from the acts conducted by the FPI, she said. (fss) Democratic Party.

Aleksius Jemadu, the dean of political sciences at Pelita Harapan University, said Transition of government the opposition’s rule over the MPR would affect Joko’s survivability as president. “There’s even a chance that Jokowi won’t finish his five-year tenure. Because the Parliamentary democracy? KMP [Red-White Coalition] favors [presidential] elections not by the people, but by the MPR. This will also be a way for them to control the executive bodies,” he The Jakarta Globe, 09-10-2014 continued. The opposition to President-elect Joko Widodo on Wednesday managed to score However, the newly elected speaker has denied any plan to weaken or even a narrow victory, which completed the bloc’s attempt to dominate all legislative impeach Joko after his inauguration as president on Oct. 20, promising a smooth bodies in Indonesia, prompting further anxiety about political stability in the handover of power. country. After dominating the leadership of the House of Representatives last week, losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s Red-White Coalition also “The most important thing is to build a prosperous nation … that is our national managed to gain full control of the People’s Consultative Assembly, or MPR. goal, so there is no intention to impeach anyone,” Zulkifli said after the grueling plenary session that lasted until the early hours of Wednesday morning. It is the highest legislative body in the country, and it has the power to amend the Constitution and impeach a president. Zulkifli gave his guarantee that Joko’s inauguration would be safe and smooth, without any political disruption, as far as he was concerned. The PAN politician After an MPR plenary session marked by shouting and back-room lobbying lasting also said it was absurd for anybody to think of impeaching Joko. nearly 19 hours, former forestry minister Zulkifli Hasan of the National Mandate Party (PAN), backed by the Red-White Coalition, had the majority of the votes “We need to prioritize the unity [of the nation], the MPR is the glue that holds all cast, at 347, compared to 330 for businessman Oesman Sapta Odang, backed by the different parts together,” Zulkifli said. Joko’s coalition.

Besides Zulkifli, four deputy speakers were selected, all members of the Red- Comment and opinion White Coalition: Hidayat Nur Wahid from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), The Jakarta Globe, 12-10-2014, by Johannes Nugroho, from Surabaya. Mahyuddin from Golkar Party, Oesman Sapta Odang who was nominated by the

Weekly Update Human Rights in Indonesia – 13-10-2014

Prabowo Subianto’s Red-and-White Coalition (KMP) delivered its parliamentary Closer to the bone, after the 2004 elections in which Megawati lost the coup de grace last week when it successfully installed its candidates in the chair presidency, PDI-P was part of a grand coalition with a majority in parliament bent and deputy chairs of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR). With both the on obstructing the new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. So House of Representatives (DPR) and MPR dominated by KMP, it seems obvious KMP’s current tactics are nothing new to Megawati. Between 1999 and today, that the coalition of parties behind President-elect Joko Widodo lacks sufficient the same person, Megawati has chaired the PDI-P uninterruptedly. Yet, she political stamina and strategic sense to support the incoming government. appears to have learned little during her long tenure, least of all how to react in a political crisis. The Jokowi coalition, called — rather ironically — the Great Indonesia Coalition (Koalisi Indonesia Hebat, KIH), led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle Stubbornly, she seems to forget that democratic politicians have to negotiate and (PDI-P), has suffered a series of humiliating defeats in parliament at the hands of manipulate their way out of crises. Megawati doesn’t. She sits still regally and the rival KMP. expects the world to come to her, and as a result is bypassed by the world. When that happens, she feels scandalously victimized. As if gripped by political paralysis, PDI-P’s leadership in KIH is dismal while its lobbying is woefully ineffectual. Instead of producing countermaneuvers, the PDI-P’s apparent failure to provide a solid base of parliamentary support for party is constantly whining about being victims of foul play. Most recently, the Jokowi reminds us of the rumors rampant around the time of the presidential party claimed to be “stupefied by the dishonesty” of its opponents at the closed election. It was then claimed the party was far from being united in support for ballot for MPR speakership. The stupefying “dishonesty” occurred when 48 his candidacy. It was alleged that some party leaders wanted a member of the recalcitrant MPs switched sides during the secret ballot. PDI-P had obviously Sukarno clan run for president. believed it would win the day as a temporary alliance was formed with the United Development Party (PPP) and members of Indonesia’s upper house of Jokowi’s emergence as a national leader from within PDI-P undoubtedly parliament, the Regional Representatives Council (DPD). In their duplicitous represented a direct challenge to the dominance of the descendants of votes, KIH’s own Judases enabled KMP to score another victory. Indonesia’s first president in the party. The Sukarnoists are said to have made Megawati’s daughter Puan Maharani, currently head of PDI-P’s central board, a PDI-P’s latest spectacular failure brings back memories of the 1999 MPR session. new focus of loyalty. At its annual National Congress last month, the party also Even after emerging victorious with 34 percent votes in the legislative election, announced its “unanimous” decision to stick with Megawati as leader for the the party failed to secure the presidency for its chairwoman Megawati next five years, disproving earlier speculation that — having opted not to run as Soekarnoputri. Similarly ruthless tactics were also present at the 2001 session president — she was ready to hand the baton over to the next generation. which resulted in the ouster of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Weekly Update Human Rights in Indonesia – 13-10-2014

Recent events have also shown that an Indonesian president is better placed if he Jokowi shrugs off threats or she commands his or her own political party. Yudhoyono’s recent actions would not have been possible, had he not been leader of the Democratic Party. The Jakarta Post, 10-10-2014 By the same token, Jokowi’s presidency may well be underserved by the fact he is President-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo responded calmly to the vengeful agenda no party leader. Given the gumption shown by the Prabowo-led opposition in of Hashim Sujono Djojohadikusumo, the brother and top aide of losing challenging the president-elect, it stands to reason that he should perhaps presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who said he intended to employ all of acquire a party chair as soon as it is possible to do so. his political resources to limit the authority of the incoming government. The most logical solution would be for Jokowi to become chairman of PDI-P, his Hashim, a tycoon and the deputy chief patron of the Gerindra Party, in recent party of origin, but this avenue may be closed for him, given the dominance of interviews said that Prabowo’s Red-and-White Coalition would be an “active, the Sukarno clan in the party. Hence, unthinkable as it may sound for someone constructive opposition” to Jokowi, who will start his five-year term on Oct. 20. like Jokowi who has publicly supported Megawati, the new president may have to set up his own political party, at least if he survives till the next elections in 2019. By utilizing its control over a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives, the coalition, Hashim said, would have power over Jokowi’s In hindsight, perhaps Jokowi should have done so before his presidential agenda and retain veto power over appointments for more than 100 top candidacy, as Yudhoyono did in 2001. If he proceeds to form his own party while positions, including chiefs of the National Police and the Indonesian Military still in office, a backlash from his current political patrons at PDI-P is to be (TNI). “Yes, Mr. Jokowi, there is a price to be paid,” he told the Wall Street expected. Journal on Monday. Jokowi and PDI-P should do further soul searching to ensure their political The plot is rooted in Hashim’s disappointment with Jokowi, who left his post as collaboration best serves the country, rather than their own political ambitions. It Jakarta governor to run for president and defeated Prabowo in the July 9 may well be that a sacrifice by the Sukarno clan is needed for the greater good. election. Hashim claimed to be the primary financial campaign backer for Megawati, despite her own lackluster presidency, was highly lauded for her Jokowi’s governorship bid. “statesmanship” when she put aside her own ambitions and nominated Jokowi as While acknowledging Hashim and Prabowo’s past financial support, Jokowi a presidential candidate. The ball seems to be in her court again. And again, lambasted Hashim’s vengeful plot. “[Hashim] should have thought like a inaction and lethargy may be her undoing, should she fail to act with sufficient statesman,” he said at City Hall on Thursday. foresight.

Weekly Update Human Rights in Indonesia – 13-10-2014

“Yes, [they financially] supported me, however, I do not know the exact amount,” afraid of the threat from the coalition as he had some means to counter the he added. attack. He said Jokowi could utilize support from the public, as well as a team of experts in the presidential office. “He could establish a state palace institution Hashim’s planned retaliation has also garnered criticism from vice president-elect filled with trustworthy people, so if he wanted to issue a regulation, it could Jusuf Kalla. “Our program is to advance the nation and improve prosperity. If help,” Phillips said. He said that Jokowi could not solely rely on his Cabinet since [Hashim focuses on] thwarting us, it means he intends to go against the people. he would have to compromise on some of the ministerial seats for political Maybe, he doesn’t understand the meaning of democracy,” he said on the parties. “Meanwhile, the state institution is an arena where Jokowi has full sidelines of an event in Depok, West Java. control,” Phillips said. Hashim, in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, said that the coalition was seeking to push investigations into alleged wrongdoings committed by Jokowi, Misquoted or mistranslated? including the graft-ridden Transjakarta bus procurement in Jakarta and alleged The Jakarta Globe, 10-10-2014 irregularities in the Surakarta education budget while Jokowi was mayor. “We will use our power to investigate and to obstruct,” he said. Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the billionaire brother of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, has taken a swipe at the Indonesian media for allegedly Hashim’s agenda apparently failed to garner support from coalition members, misquoting him about his plans to “obstruct” the agenda of the country’s new including Golkar Party secretary-general Idrus Marham. “[We] do not mean to president. Hashim said local media have portrayed him in a negative light by obstruct. The coalition will always act critically to seek solutions. The coalition mistranslating his English interview with The Wall Street Journal. works based on a vision and ideology that aims to defend the state’s interests. The coalition is not a bully [pengganggu],” he told The Jakarta Post. In a written statement to leaders of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Hashim said he had been “misquoted” by some Indonesian media Bara Hasibuan, an executive of the National Mandate Party (PAN), reiterated that outlets about the intention of opposition lawmakers in the Red-White Coalition. the party would not be involved in Hashim’s personal vendetta. “For PAN, the presidential race has ended and the country needs to move on to reach a better “I have never said we would obstruct,” Hasim said in the statement, which was future. The task of all the political elite is to help the country move on and not seen by Indonesian reporters. “I said if there was a strong reason for it, such as a provoke the public to keep the conflict alive,” he said. Phillips J. Vermonte, the referendum for Papua or the legalization of the Indonesia Communist Party (PKI), head of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) department of we would fight back.” Hashim added he never said he would obstruct Joko’s politics and international relations, said that there was no need for Jokowi to be inauguration.