Civil-society organisations confronted Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on 11 March over its failure to take action over the involuntary disappearances of five people. The group called on the Indonesian government to work cooperatively with the UN Working Group for Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) in investigating the disappearances and to ratify the Convention on the Protection of All Persons From Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
Representatives from The Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI), the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (KontraS), a member of FORUM-ASIA, confronted Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on 11 March over its failure to take action over the involuntary disappearances of five people.
Among those present at the meeting were Komnas HAM Commissioner Djoni Simanjuntak, Sri from the international division of KontraS and IKOHI Chairman and AFAD President Mugiyanto.During the meeting, IKOHI stated that according to a January 2008 report by the UN Working Group for Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID), tabled at this month’s 7th session of the UN Human Rights Council, five people had reportedly disappeared in Indonesia: three Toyado cases from Central Sulawesi (Iwan Ronti, Hasyim Toana, Aswat Lamarati) and two resulting from the 1965-66 crackdown of alleged communists (Rohadi Iwan Hadi Subroto, Madum Budi Martono).
Those five cases had been referred to the Indonesian government for clarification, but no response had yet been forthcoming. Similarly, in the past two years the government had not responded to a UNWGEID request for an official visit to Indonesia
Indonesia is a member of the UN and the UN Human rights Council, and on 12 March, 2007, Indonesia’s Minister of Justice and Human Rights said that his country would sign the Convention on the Protection of All Persons From Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, a pledge later repeated to IKOHI. However, Indonesia has still not signed or ratified the convention.
IKOHI said Indonesia must promptly investigate cases of involuntary disappearances, including those surrounding the 1997/98 pro-democracy movement, in order to help prevent further disappearances, to ensure rule of law and to fulfill the rights of both victims and victims’ families to truth, justice and recovery.
The NGOs called on Komnas HAM, as an independent institution, to press the Indonesian government to work cooperatively with UNWGEID in investigating the cases of the five missing people and to provide answers for UNWGEID in order to implement its mandate in Indonesia.
They also called on the Indonesian government and the Representative Council of Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) to fulfill their pledge to sign and ratify the Convention on the Protection of All Persons From Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances as a commitment from Indonesia to protect and preserve human rights in the country.
They asked that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono order the Attorney-General to abide by the Constitutional Court decision of 21 February 21, 2008, and immediately investigate the disappearance of pro-democracy activists in 1997/98.
Komnas HAM Commissioner Djoni Simanjuntak said he would discuss the three Toyado cases with police officials in the coming week.
