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New military chief must tackle abuses: Human Rights Watch
Jakarta Post - August 14, 2015
"General Nurmantyo is now the responsible man for making sure that the Indonesian armed forces stop committing abuses and improve their respect for human rights," said HRW deputy Asia director Phelim Kine in a statement on Friday.
"It's his responsibility to ensure the military meets its international legal obligations throughout Indonesia," he said.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo named Nurmantyo, the former Army chief of staff, as TNI commander on July 8.
Kine said Nurmantyo should ensure prompt, transparent and impartial investigations into abuses in which military personnel have been implicated, and that he should also take appropriate action against such personnel.
HRW says among the measures the new TNI commander must take is the immediate ban of so-called virginity tests. The tests are mandatory for all female recruits and fiancees of military officers in the Indonesian armed forces. However, HRW has stated that the tests violate the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that is enshrined in international human rights law.
Another step HRW says Nurmantyo needs to take is to publicly show his support for President Jokowi's decision to lift access and reporting restrictions on Indonesia-based, accredited foreign media entering, or trying to enter, Papua.
He also needs to ensure that all armed forces in Papua are aware of, and fully respectful of, the freedom of the press, HRW says. President Jokowi announced a complete lifting of those restrictions on May 10.
HRW says Nurmantyo should also publicly support investigations into serious human rights abuses, particularly in Papua, such as the killing of five peaceful protesters in the remote town of Enarotali on December 8, 2014.
"The new military chief should also fully cooperate with government plans to investigate the 1965-66 mass killings of alleged communists and others, as well as other past atrocities, including the Talangsari incident, the Trisakti and Semanggi I and II killings, the abduction of pro-democracy activists in 1997-98, and the May 1998 rioting," said Kine.
He said military cooperation was crucial to determining responsibility for these abuses in order to provide justice and redress for the victims and their families. (ebf)
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