IBRAHIM ISA ------------------ 18 February 2006
OPEN LETTER to the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, 1 Easton Street London WC 1X 0DW, UK INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT Dear friends, To date, the international community has failed to address the massacre of around 1 million law-abiding citizens of Indonesia, orchestrated by General Suharto during his rise to power in 1965-1966. Whereas the victims of the Bali bombings of 2002, mostly non-Indonesians, found some measure of justice within months, more than four decades later the survivors of this massive crime against humanity as yet pass unrecognised. Two years ago, March 27, 2004, I wrote an open letter to the Secretary General of the UNO, Mr Kofi Annan. Quoting his selfcriticism on the occasion of the memorial conference at the UN, March 26, 2004, comemmorating the tenth anniv. of the Rwanda Genocide, that "The International Community is guilty of sins of omission" , I asked his attention to the present situation of i m p u n i t y in Indonesia. Sadly enough I did not receive even an answer to my letter. Now, I would like to draw the attention of the Internatinal Secretariat to the following: In 1965-1966 , anyone alleged to have the most tenuous links to the Communist Party of Indonesia was killed, at heir houses, in the streets, or at mass grave sites, such as the Wonosobo site, exhumed in November 2000. Some were hit on the head and thrown vertical caves, as was done at the Blitar site, uncovered in August 2002. Many of the over 200.000 political prisoners were tortured, worked or starved to death; those who survived did so by enduring years, often decades, of the most inhuman conditions. Upon release they, like other alleged communists who survived the killings and avoided the jails, were systematically discriminated against and ostracised. The regulations introduced to deal with these persons remain in force even today, despite the fall of the Suharto regime, and include restrictions on the right to marry freely, work, travel and practice religion. To this day, nobody accused of being connected with communism is allowed to participate in elections or hold certain public or professional positions in society, such as practicing medicine, working in government departments or undertake military service. But these systematic remnants of the massacre are by no means its most malevolent legacy. Far more insidious is the violent opportunism and mean vengeful spirit that persist to this day. This was seen in the last days of the Suharto dictatorship, with the so-called 'May Riots' of 1998, during which the military encouraged civilians to rape and kill ethnic Chinese Indonesians, destroy or loot their property. An es timated 1190 were killed in Jakarta and 168 women gang-raped. In September 1999 the military again incited murder, this time by civilian militias in East Timor, after a successful referendum for independence. One to two thousands person were again killed. In October 1999, the military engineered a religious war in the Maluku islands, causing an estimated 6000 deaths and displacing 500.000 person. In February 2001, an estimated 500 Madurese settlers were massacred in Sampit, Central Kalimantan. None of these crimes have been properly investigated, perpetrators subjected to fair and independent trials, or victims conpensated. I solemnly request the International Secretariat of the Amnesty International to do something in order to put pressure to bear upon the Indonesian authorities, so as to: Conduct a full, idependent and official ivestigation into the massacre of 1965-66 <a crime against humanity> Ensure that major criminals are not given impunity and that the safety of witnesses is assured through a protection programme, Immediately remove all discriminatory regulations against alleged former communists and communist sympathisers, Protect the human rights defenders and activitists collecting evidence and advocating on behalf of the 1965-1966 massacre, such as the PAKORBA, LPKP, LPKROB, YPKP and the Forum of Coordinating Advocacy and Rehabilitation Team. Sincerely yours, Ibrahim Isa ------------------------ Yahoo! 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