Today, 20 March 2018, marks the 20th anniversary of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), one of our long-time members from Indonesia. 20 years of tireless work to assure the disappeared are not forgotten and victims of violence get the justice they deserve. 20 years of demanding human rights and accountability for all people of Indonesia.
KontraS’ history aligns closely with the end of the New Order and the start of the Reform Era. A period in which hopes were high for a new time for the country, but where the realities of ongoing challenges soon proofed how much work remained to be done for organisations, such as KontraS. It cannot be underestimated how crucial the advocacy, campaigning and support for victims of human rights violations of KontraS has been in these last two decades.
As a new dawn comes for KontraS, the struggle for justice, democracy and human rights continues. We, our 58 member organisations from 19 countries in Asia and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) itself, believe that as long as our friends and colleagues from KontraS will continue their hard work, there will always be hope for Indonesia.
