By Vannessa Hearman
The human rights situation in Indonesia in 1992 did not improve, according to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBH). The foundation, one of Indonesia's foremost non-governmental organisations, held a press conference on December 10, International Human Rights Day, to report its findings.
Government sensitivity to its image is indicated by the recent establishment of a commission on human rights in the parliament. This move has been greeted with much scepticism by activists. According to Helmi Fauzi, director of the Indonesian Human Rights Centre in Sydney, the formation of the commission in a "rubber stamp" parliament will not significantly improve the human rights situation.
"It is the campaign work of the grassroots organisations that has made and will continue to make the difference on human rights", he said.
The LBH alleges that "The conduct of an election in this regime is merely to legitimate its repressive rule". The elections last June, which returned the governing party with a reduced majority, were hailed as a "democracy fiesta" by the government, and Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating congratulated President Suharto on their conduct.
However, the two permitted opposition parties alleged widespread vote tampering and misconduct. Many people, particularly grassroots activists, boycotted the election. White flags, signifying boycott, flew in major cities such as Yogyakarta, Bandung and Semarang.
It is understandable that people are losing faith in the political process. President Suharto controls both houses of parliament, where no legislation has been initiated since the early 1970s.
The LBH report highlights the pervasive presence of the armed forces (ABRI) within government and the bureaucracy. Beside the allocated 10% of seats in parliament, the armed forces provide 15 of 27 governors and hold 11 positions in cabinet.
Despite some debate on the role of the military, Suharto stated repeatedly last year that this role has been historically determined — that is, it is something that cannot be changed. The report argues that the debate had no effect on ABRI, except for the cutting back of military aid by the US Congress last
October. The report says that while ABRI had advocated greater openness and democracy in 1991, it was the staunchest upholder of authority and the status quo in 1992.
The head of ABRI, General Try Sutrisno, has repeatedly referred to internal forces threatening national stability, often calling grassroots pro-democracy organisations "fourth generation communists". In October and November, ABRI held the largest weapons training and exercises in ABRI's history in a small town in East Java.
Fifteen students were arrested in Yogyakarta last October for organising an independent youth group. However, further actions by other youth organisations, such as the Indonesian Anti-Nuclear Students and Youth Front, which protested against the possible passage of the plutonium-carrying Japanese ship, Akatsuki Maru, through Indonesian waters, were not repressed.
The report found that of Indonesia's 596 political prisoners, 53% are connected with independence struggles, chiefly those in West Papua, Aceh and East Timor. A third are imprisoned in connection with being Islamic activists, and 5% are communists.
There has been a growth of grassroots organisations dealing with areas such as democracy, workers' rights, land disputes and women's issues.
One sign of the increasing willingness of Indonesians to defend their rights was the great number of strikes last year. In Tangerang, where light manufacturing predominates, around 60% of companies do not pay the minimum wage. Tangerang recorded the highest number of strikes. According to data compiled from press reports, from January to October 1992, 82 strikes there involved around 45,000 workers.
Nationally in the same period there were 177 worker protests, including strikes, involving 87,992 workers. Reaction of the authorities has varied, but recently minister for labour Cosmas Batubara warned that strikes could affect Indonesia's international competitiveness. Calls for restraint have come from a leader of the government-controlled union SPSI.
Despite Indonesia's fast growing economy, signs of poverty are everywhere, said LBH. The unevenness of growth between the farming and industrial sectors exacerbates the already unequal distribution of wealth.
In West Java, almost 1500 villages are classified poor. In East Java, 4.8 million people are considered poor. According to a director of the Social Studies Centre in Gajah Mada University, Yogyakarta, at least 30 million people (one in six) experienced
food shortages, despite Indonesia's self-sufficiency in rice.
Also creating poverty at an alarming rate is the frequent displacement of rural families by the government and large corporations, which appropriate land at little compensation. Land rights disputes have occurred in areas in Jakarta, such as Cibubur, Tanah Merah and Lebak Bulus, as well as further afield.
In these confrontations with the residents, force is often used. In Tanah Merah, the people were faced with 330 security force personnel in full battle gear.
In 1992, the number of complaints against the security apparatus received by LBH increased by around 30%. The foundation pointed out the lack of accountability of these "law enforcers" and the minimal protection accorded to the poor under the law.