TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Small rights steps
The frontrunner and the eventual winner of the presidential race, retired Indonesian Military (TNI) general, Prabowo Subianto, has long been tied to allegations of human rights violations, a charge that he categorically denies.
Change Size
Activists of the Solidarity Network of Victims for Justice attend the 574th "Kamisan" (Thursday), a weekly silent protest, in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Feb. 14, 2019. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
N
ever in the history of Indonesia’s presidential elections, have human rights issues taken center stage as they have in the last election season.
The reason is obvious. The frontrunner and eventual winner of the race, retired Indonesian Military (TNI) general, Prabowo Subianto, has long been tied to allegations of human rights violations, a charge that he categorically denies.
Prabowo has appeared to have taken the allegations in his stride, believing their appearance to be a cheap political trick recycled once every five years in an attempt to weaken his standing in the polls.
"I have answered the question so many times. Once every five years, once my polling numbers are up, the question comes up again," Prabowo said in a presidential debate in December last year.
It did not help that Prabowo’s primary backer, outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the first civilian politician to win the country’s direct presidential election, has a patchy human rights record himself.
Under Jokowi’s tenure, there has been no significant breakthrough in solving the multiple major human rights violations from the country's past, from the 1965 anticommunist massacre to the May 1998 riots.
Early in his administration, President Jokowi made big promises to investigate and address past human rights abuses, but progress on the ground has been minimal.
Early in his second term, President Jokowi issued a headline-grabbing apology for past human rights abuses, including for the 1965 anticommunist purge, and pledged that the rights of victims would be restored.
But as his second term winds down, much of this promise remains empty, with many in the government debating administrative solutions like double citizenship or the kind of visa some political exiles could use to return to Indonesia.
On the international front, Indonesia continues to face questions regarding the human rights situation in Papua, where tension remains high from clashes between security personnel and a number of separatist groups.
There is a real risk that tension could further escalate with the TNI reverting to its old tactic of dealing with the separatist groups, referring to them as the Free Papua Movement (OPM) again, instead of the more generic armed criminal groups (KKBs).
It is not a good sign that as the country prepares to welcome the new administration of president-elect Prabowo, the Defense Ministry is requesting a bigger budget to buy high-tech weapons that can “detect or retaliate” against separatist rebels in Papua.
The administration of president-elect Prabowo will have to deal with what could be heightened tension in Papua as well as other problems carried over from the Jokowi administration.
The incoming Prabowo administration would do well if it could immediately come up with a plan of action on how it would investigate past human rights abuses and end the culture of impunity.
So far, we haven't seen a detailed plan from Prabowo's presidential campaign team or his transition team.
Rights activists have also pointed out the fact that Prabowo’s campaign platform lacked specific details on how to ensure accountability and justice for victims of human rights violations, and this has raised doubt on the ability and commitment of the incoming government to address past human rights violations.
President-elect Prabowo should prove his critics wrong and show that he is serious about solving past rights abuses and protecting human rights.
He could start with small gestures rather than making big promises.
For 17 years now, families of victims of past rights abuses have staged a weekly protest called Kamisan (Thursday) in front of the State Palace.
A meeting with them would be a good start.