14 March 2001
Jakarta Post
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has been told to be more transparent regarding it’s activities in order to gain public faith in it’s independence, results of investigations released on Tuesday recommended.
The New Delhi-based South Asia Human Rights Documentation Center (SAHRDC) revealed that the commission lacked transparency regarding its meetings with government or military officials in relation to inquiries.
SAHRDC director Ravi Nair said that it is important for the commission to make sure that the results of meetings are accessible for the public to allay fears of compromise with the officials.
“Our interviews with several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) here, including those who had filed complaints with the commission and those who refused to file any, revealed their mistrust of the commission’s performance and independence,” Nair told a discussion held by the Institute for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) here.
He cited a media report stating that the commission had met military
officials asking for clearance prior to submitting the first report of
their inquiry into the Tanjung Priok case to the government.
Komnas HAM member Gen. (ret) Samsudin rejected the report, saying that
they merely approached the military about their plans to question some
officers connected with the 1984 clash between the military and local
residents.
“But some NGOs had accused us of bargaining with the military,” he
said.
Nair also pointed out that the commission should ask the government to
allocate a larger budget than US$250,000 a year to carry out their
activities in this vast country which has been prone to human rights
abuses.
“Compared to other country’s rights commissions, your budget is
the lowest. You must lobby the legislators to raise the commission’s
budget … ,” he insisted.
The documentation center also recommended that legislators should not
nominate people affiliated with political parties to the commission
members to safeguard doubt of it’s independence.
SAHRDC also suggested that the rights commission carry out an in-
depth study into the people’s social and economic rights, which have
long been denied by the government, including the connection between the
country’s debts with children’s education.
However, commission member Emil Salim said that it’s not an easy task
to ask the government to raise the commission’s funds or to further
screen the commission members.
“In reality, it’s difficult to act in accordance with your
recommendations. The budget is not there, neither is the skill or the
capacity. We face a lot of constraints in keeping our activities going,”
he said.