----- Original Message ----- From: Public Affairs Section <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Daniel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2001 12:26 PM Subject: State Department Human Rights Report on Indonesia 2000 > Excerpt: State Department Human Rights Report on Indonesia 2000 > (Overall human rights situation worsened during the year) (2290) > > The U.S. Department of State released the 25th edition of its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices February 26. > > The full report is available online at: > > http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/timor/indohr2k.htm > > Following is an excerpt featuring the text of the opening narrative of the report on Indonesia for the year 2000: > > (begin excerpt) > > INDONESIA > > Indonesia made progress in some areas of its transition from a long-entrenched authoritarian regime to a more pluralistic, representative democracy; however, the country also encountered significant setbacks in areas of democratic governance. In October 1999, President Abdurrahman Wahid was elected in the country's first pluralistic elections, in a process judged free and fair by international monitors. The democratically-elected government faced enormous challenges because institutions required for a democratic system either do not exist or are at an early stage of development. Existing institutions, including the government bureaucracy and security establishment, often were obstacles to democratic development. When governmental authority changed hands from President B.J. Habibie to President Wahid the political system was revamped to provide for separation of powers, with an executive branch, a president, and an appointed cabinet that ultimately are accountable to a directly elected parliament. The Parliament (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) were installed in October 1999, replacing the former DPR, which was elected in 1997, and the former MPR. In accordance with constitutional procedures, the new MPR elected, in a transparent balloting procedure, Wahid as President, and Megawati Soekarnoputri as Vice President in October 1999. The 500-member DPR, of which 462 members were chosen in the 1999 elections (but which also includes 38 unelected members of the military), became a forum for vigorous debate of government policy and practice during the year. The Parliament frequently challenged the authority and policies of the executive branch, and in mid-July formally exercised its right to summon President Wahid to respond to questions about his actions. The MPR, which consists of the Parliament, 130 elected regional representatives, and 65 appointed functional group representatives, held its first annual session in August; previously the MPR ordinarily had met every 5 years to elect the President and Vice President and to consider other matters reserved for the MPR. Severe criticism of President Wahid's performance led the MPR in August to issue a decree mandating the President to cede additional authorities over daily governance to Vice President Megawati as stipulated in a subsequent presidential decree. This decision has not appeared to alter significantly the power relationship between the President and Vice President. During its August session, the MPR amended the 1945 Constitution to, among other changes, incorporate human rights protections modeled on the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, although human rights activists expressed concern that a constitutional amendment prohibiting retroactive application of laws could be used to shield past human rights violators from prosecution. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, it remains subordinated to the executive and suffers from pervasive corruption. > > The 275,000-member armed forces (TNI) are under the supervision of a civilian defense minister but retain broad nonmilitary powers and an internal security role, and are not fully accountable to civilian authority. The military and police jointly occupy 38 appointed seats in the DPR reserved for the security forces, as well as 10 percent of the seats in provincial and district parliaments. During the first half of the year, political leaders considered phasing out reserved seats for the security forces in the DPR and MPR. The security forces agreed to relinquish their appointed seats in the national and regional legislatures in 2004, but the MPR adopted a decree during its August session that extended the security forces' presence in the MPR until the year 2009. In March President Wahid signed a decree abolishing the Agency for Coordination of Assistance for the Consolidation of National Security (BAKORSTANAS), which had given the security forces wide discretion to detain and interrogate persons who were perceived as threats to national security. In July President Wahid signed a decree removing the national police force of 175,000 members from the supervision of the Minister of Defense and providing for civilian oversight. This step, in addition to the formal separation of the police from the armed forces in 1999, was intended to give the police primary responsibility for internal security. Notwithstanding these changes, the military continues to play a substantial internal security role in areas of conflict, such as Aceh, the Moluccas, and Irian Jaya. Both the TNI and the police committed numerous serious human rights abuses throughout the year. > > The economy, which is market-based with a significant degree of government intervention, increased by approximately 3.5 percent during the year, following a more than 13 percent decline in real terms in 1998 and no real growth in 1999. Industrial exports grew strongly, particularly in labor-intensive textile, electronics, wood products, and other light manufacturing industries based on the densely populated islands of Java and Bali. Underemployment remained high at approximately 19 million persons. Over 40 percent of the adult working population is employed in agriculture, which in Java, Bali, and southern Sulawesi primarily involves rice and other food crops but elsewhere concentrates on cash crops such as oil palm, rubber, coffee, tea, coconut, and spices. Per capita gross domestic product among the population of 211 million was $580 in 1999, well below the levels achieved before the severe economic downturn that began in July 1997. The downturn affected most severely the urban poor, particularly in Java, partly as a result of a wholesale shift in employment from the higher-paying formal sector to the less secure informal sector. The negative impact of the economic and financial downturn was smaller in less populated, natural resource-rich Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Sumatra. Large disparities in the distribution of wealth and political power contributed to social tensions across the country and continued to create demands for greater regional autonomy. In response, the Government prepared for the implementation of two potentially significant 1999 laws providing for greater political and economic decentralization and for revenue sharing among the country's provinces and districts. > > The Government's human rights record was poor, and the overall human rights situation worsened during the year, despite the Wahid Government's efforts to continue the country's democratic transition and permit the exercise of basic freedoms. Security forces were responsible for numerous instances of, at times indiscriminate, shooting of civilians, torture, rape, beatings and other abuse, and arbitrary detention in Aceh, West Timor, Irian Jaya (also known as Papua or West Papua), the Moluccas, Sulawesi, and elsewhere in the country. TNI personnel often responded with indiscriminate violence after physical attacks on soldiers. They also continued to conduct "sweeps" which led to killing of civilians and property destruction. The Government and the leaders of the Free Aceh Movement members signed an agreement in May providing for a humanitarian pause in the fighting between them, beginning on June 2. During the pause, both sides agreed not to undertake offensive operations or maneuvers. Initially the humanitarian pause greatly reduced violence in Aceh, but by September violence had returned to roughly pre-pause levels. Army forces, police, and GAM members committed numerous extrajudicial killings. In Irian Jaya (Papua) police shot and killed persons involved in Papuan independence flag-raisings or demonstrations on a number of occasions, even when these demonstrations were nonviolent. There continued to be credible reports of the disappearance of dozens of civilians, including Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) activist, and Tengku Hashiruddin Daud, an Acehnese Member of Parliament. Both later were found dead with indications of torture. East Timorese prointegration militias resident in West Timor, armed and largely supported by the army, were responsible for numerous acts of violence in West Timor directed at local West Timorese residents and international aid workers, including the murder of three U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials in Atambua in September. The militias made repeated crossborder raids into East Timor, which resulted in the deaths of two U.N. Peacekeeping Force personnel. In West Timor, the militias attacked and threatened UNHCR and other humanitarian aid workers throughout the year, leading to the withdrawal of international aid workers on several occasions, intimidated East Timorese internally displaced persons (IDP's) and the local population in West Timor, and destroyed property belonging to international organizations. Twenty-four army personnel received jail sentences of 8 to 10 years in May for the massacre of 58 civilians in Beutong Ateuh, West Aceh, in July 1999. However, the most senior military officer involved in the incident inexplicably disappeared after the convictions. In response to past abuses, joint civilian-military courts and various other investigative bodies are pursuing several other cases involving army and police officers, but aside from the Beutong Ateuh, West Aceh case, no other cases were brought to trial. Security forces systematically employed arbitrary arrest and detention without trial in Aceh. The Government has not prosecuted any persons in connection with the militia-related crimes in West or East Timor dating back to 1999, although the Attorney General in September and October named 23 persons as suspects in East Timor human rights cases (one of whom was killed in early September). > > Rapes and sexual exploitation by security forces continued to be a problem, particularly in West Timor. Prison conditions are harsh. Despite initial steps toward reform, the judiciary remains subordinate to the executive, suffers from corruption, and does not always ensure due process. Security forces infringe on citizens' privacy rights. The Government generally respects freedom of speech and the press; however, journalists continued to suffer intimidation and assaults. The Government places significant controls on freedom of assembly, but allowed most demonstrations to proceed without hindrance during the year, except in Aceh and Irian Jaya. Security forces sometimes resorted to excessive force in order to disrupt peaceful demonstrations. There were numerous credible reports that police assaulted persons detained in Irian Jaya after violent clashes, and police detained persons for organizing peaceful independence flag-raisings. The Government generally respects freedom of association, although the Communist Party remains banned. The Government legally provides for religious freedom for five designated religions; unrecognized religions are subject to restrictions. The Government continues to restrict freedom of movement to a limited extent. Thousands of Acehnese residents fled their villages during conflicts between the security forces and separatists. The army, East Timorese militias in West Timor, and militant groups in Maluku also forced the relocation of hundreds of thousands of persons. In West Timor, the Government's failure to disarm and disband the East Timorese prointegration militias impeded the repatriation or resettlement of thousands of East Timorese IDP's. > Domestic human rights organizations continued to play a significant role in advocating improved human rights conditions; however, the authorities continued to subject some NGO's to monitoring and interference, and in August in Jakarta, unknown persons allegedly kidnaped, held, and threatened a group of agrarian activists for 2 weeks before releasing them. Violence and discrimination against women are widespread problems. Child abuse and child prostitution are problems, and female genital mutilation (FGM) persists in some areas. Discrimination against the disabled, and against indigenous, religious, and ethnic minorities also are widespread problems. Interreligious violence, particularly in the Moluccas, claimed over 3,000 lives, and thousands of Christians in Maluku were forced to convert to Islam. Discrimination against ethnic minorities continued. Attacks against houses of worship continued, and the lack of an effective government response to punish perpetrators and prevent further attacks led to allegations of official complicity in some of the incidents. > > During the year the Government ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor, enacted a new law on trade unions, and continued to allow new trade unions to form and operate. Nonetheless, enforcement of labor standards remains inconsistent and weak in some areas. Millions of children work, often under poor conditions. Forced and bonded child labor remains a problem, although the Government continued to take steps during the year to remove children from fishing platforms, on which bonded child labor most commonly occurs. Trafficking of persons into and from the country for the purpose of prostitution and sometimes for forced labor is a problem. > > The Government was ineffective in deterring social, interethnic, and interreligious violence that accounted for the majority of deaths by violence during the year. Enforcement of the law against criminal violence deteriorated, resulting in religious groups purporting to uphold public morality, and mobs dispensing "street justice" operated with impunity. > > In Aceh dozens of lowlevel civil servants, police, and military personnel were murdered and abducted during the year. Private non-Acehnese residents also sometimes suffered attacks. It generally is believed that separatists carried out many of these, and other, killings. In Irian Jaya, mobs killed over 20 migrant settlers and wounded scores of others on October 6 and 7 after police opened fire on indigenous Papuans resisting the removal of Papuan independence flags. Unknown attackers killed two police members and a security guard in Abepura, Irian Jaya, on December 7, and two timber workers near the Irian Jaya-Papua New Guinea border on December 9. Police blamed both attacks on the Free Papua Organization (OPM) although local human rights groups believe that groups with ties to the security forces were involved. > > The DPR enacted landmark legislation establishing a human rights court, and deliberated on and debated other draft legislation with human rights implications, such as a bill on broadcasting. In January President Wahid issued Presidential Decree No. 6, which repealed the ban (passed in 1967) on the practice of Chinese religion (Confucianism), beliefs, and customs. Ethnic Chinese celebrated New Year's openly for the first time in over 30 years. > > (end excerpt) > ...........Menuju Indonesia yang Demokratis dan Berkeadilan............ 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