Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2002 - Indonesia

Members of KONTRAS and UPC attacked ²⁴

On 13th March 2002, over 100 civilians, members of "Families of the victims of Cawang 1998", who had travelled on nine buses, entered the office of the Commission for Missing persons and Victims of Violence (KONTRAS). Mr. Munir, the founder of KONTRAS, was attacked in his office by five or six people. He suffered minor injuries. Two other members of the organisation were beaten up, many computers were destroyed and documents on human rights violations in Indonesia were stolen. The assailants accounted for their action by claiming that KONTRAS is not handling adequately the cases of "the victims of Cawang" who died in 1998 during clashes with pro-democracy students in Cawang (department of East Jakarta). The assailants also referred to the 1998 and 1999 events of Trisakti and Semanggi when Muslims and students were killed by the military forces; they asked KONTRAS to investigate the deaths of those Muslims. The attack on KONTRAS certainly aimed at putting pressure on the organisation to stop its investigations into the deaths of the students in the aforementioned events.

On the same day, the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), led by Ms. Wardah Hafidz, demonstrated in Jakarta, calling on the City Governor Mr. Sutiyoso to deal with the consequences of the floods which hit several nearby towns. Supporters of the Governor, the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR), went to the demonstration on motorbikes and in cars and asked the demonstrators to leave. They pointed a sword at Ms. Wardah Hafidz and beat a demonstrator who was trying to protect her. They claimed that the FBR was ready to attack her and the UPC, for "provoking chaos".

In both cases, the assailants seemed to be manipulated by the military elite and supporters of former President Suharto.

Murder of the KaGEMPAR coordinator²⁵

On 4th December, the body of Mr Musliadi, coordinator of KaGEMPAR, a students and youth coalition was found in Sibreh (Aceh Besar's region). On 30th November, Mr Musliadi had been kidnapped at his office by six men suspected to belong to armed forces. These events occurred at the time of the celebrations for the 26th birthday of the Movement of free Aceh (GAM) and a few days before the signing of a peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the GAM which took place in Geneva on 9th December 2002. However, this agreement does not include any provisions to protect those documenting the human rights violations in the conflict zones.

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

24. See Urgent Appeal IDN 001/0302/OBS 020.

25. See Urgent Appeal IDN 002/1202/OBS 068.