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Politics puts ratification of UN convention by House in doubt
Jakarta Post - July 11, 2014
House Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs has tabled endorsement of the bill for months, although it had completed deliberations on it in January this year, over apparent concerns that the convention could potentially be used to stymie the political ambitions of Gerindra Party chief patron Prabowo Subianto and the Hanura Party chairman, Gen. (ret) Wiranto. Both former generals have been accused of involvement in past human rights abuses.
Prabowo, a former commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), and Wiranto, ex-commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI), were in 2003 named by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) as being responsible for human rights violations that occurred during the 1998 riots that preceded the fall of former president Soeharto's regime. Prabowo was singled out in particular for the disappearance of 13 pro-democracy activists.
Commission I chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said Thursday that he was confident the House would approve the ratification before its term ended in September, because the majority of party factions in the House, excluding Gerindra and Hanura, had previously supported the ratification.
"We will prioritize the deliberation of the ratification as soon as we resume the House session in mid-August," Mahfudz, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said at the House on Thursday.
The PKS is a member of the coalition backing Prabowo for the presidency. Legislators from Gerindra, the head of the coalition, have vowed to block the ratification under the pretext that the bill needed further consideration due to possible foreign intervention.
"It is not urgent for us to adopt the convention now because there are several other countries, including the United States, which have yet to do so. We don't want adoption opening the door for the international community to interfere with our legal system," said Gerindra lawmaker on Commission I, Ahmad Muzani.
Although Hanura is not a member of the Gerindra-led coalition, its faction at the House had also rejected ratification. Hanura chairman Wiranto has been accused of rights abuses during Indonesia's occupation of Timor Leste.
Hanura lawmaker Susaningtyas Nefo Handayani Kertapati argued that ratification could ensnare Indonesia in foreign interests.
"We must be really careful. The international community might think that it's important for us to ratify the convention, but it could potentially involve us in certain political interests," Susaningtyas said.
"Thus, Hanura refuses to approve the adoption and calls for further discussions to determine whether or not Indonesia should ratify the convention."
The UN convention against involuntary disappearances requires ratifying governments to ascertain the whereabouts or find the remains of previously disappeared persons. That condition would almost certainly entail the prosecution of perpetrators of forced disappearances.
In addition to the kidnapping of 13 pro-democracy activists during the 1998 May riots, more than 50,000 people were recorded missing between 1965 and 2005, according to a report from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam).
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