Rights advocates on Saturday gave a poor review of Indonesia’s
performance in 2012 in terms of tackling corruption and securing human
rights and press freedom. The Indonesian Advocates Association
(Ikadin) and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) both
expressed disappointment with the government’s efforts in these areas in
the past year. Prominent lawyer Taufik Basari said on behalf of
Ikadin that while the quantity of corruption cases addressed had
increased, the quality of the handling of such cases had not improved.
“In
terms of quality, there is still room for improvement. The KPK
[Corruption Eradication Commission], police and judiciary still have an
important role to play in probing, investigating and capturing big cases
that harm state finances,” Taufik said on Saturday. Taufik
blamed corruption, a lack of cooperation and professionalism, and the
infiltration of a “legal mafia” into the justice system for its failings
in 2012. “It is only rational to demand inter-institutional
professionalism and cooperation in enforcing the law when it comes to
corruption, including the eradication of corrupt practices and
disbanding the legal mafia, which includes members of the judiciary
itself,” he said.
In its end-of-year report for 2012, Ikadin
recommended focusing on these areas to improve the justice system in the
coming year. If the current failings are not addressed, Taufik said,
public trust in the justice system will be affected. “Public
trust in the law and the justice system has still not been restored,” he
said. “Speedy and optimal reform of the justice system is the main task
of the Supreme Court in 2013.” Taufik added that tackling cases involving human rights violations is also crucial in restoring public faith in the courts.
“Look
at the issues that have happened in various areas of Papua, Lampung,
Poso and so on,” Taufik said. “These must receive special attention when
it comes to resolving cases [of human rights violations] and creating
preventative measures.” According to data from Ikadin, instances
of public intolerance increased in 2012. The association highlighted
cases of intimidation, discrimination and violence related to ethnic,
religious and social issues that occurred in many places in Indonesia.
“This
country has not yet been able to overcome [intolerance], and provide a
sense of security for all its citizens,” Taufik said. “If it continues,
this failing will destroy the very fabric of the nation.” Meanwhile,
instances of violence against journalists dropped in 2012 despite
several high-profile abuse allegations levied against the Indonesian
Military (TNI) and government officials this year, according to an (AJI)
report. The press freedom organization recorded some 56 cases
where journalists were attacked, verbally threatened or had their
equipment destroyed in 2012.
Last year, the Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Pers) reported 96 acts of violence against journalists. The
AJI report documented 18 instances of physical abuse, 15 reports of
verbal threats and 10 cases of reporters having their equipment damaged.
AJI also included instances where journalists were prevented from
covering certain stories or protests, censorship of the media and the
banning of websites. There were an additional 12 instances of
violence directed at journalists working in Papua, including an attack
on Oktovianus Pogau, a freelance reporter who contributes to the Jakarta
Globe.
Despite the drop in numbers, AJI chairman Eko Maryadi warned that any blows to press freedom were worrying. In
recent months, several high-profile attacks on the press grabbed
headlines in Indonesia. In mid-October, a member of the Indonesian Air
Force, Lt. Col. Robert Simanjuntak, was caught on video kicking and
choking journalists trying to shoot photos of a downed military plane in
Pekanbaru, Riau. One month later, journalists in Palembang
claimed that members of the Indonesian Air Force smashed their equipment
and choked another reporter at a demonstration in Sukarmi, Palembang.
The reporters were allegedly documenting scenes of soldiers attacking
protestors. In East Nusa Tenggara, a local government official threatened to kill a journalist over a story detailing his expense claims. All
of the incidents were common stories in Indonesia, where the TNI and
the government routinely rank as the top abusers of the press, Eko said
on Friday. Abused journalists also have little hope of seeing their attackers brought to justice, Eko added. “So
far there have been only seven cases handled by the police,” he said.
“The rest were not investigated and the perpetrators were not caught.”
Eko
called on the Manado Police to finish their investigation into the
stabbing death of AJI member Aryono Linggotu. Aryono, a Metro Manado
journalist, was killed during an argument about his motorcycle’s loud
exhaust in November. His alleged murderer was arrested by police
in late November, but progress on the case is slow, Eko said, adding
that the AJI is taking steps to push for a faster investigation into
Aryono’s death. “He was brutally murdered and had been stabbed
14 times, and to this day, his case, which is being handled by Manado
Police, has progressed really slow,” Eko said. The report also
found that gender-based discrimination was still a significant issue in
Indonesian newsrooms, including instances of sexual assaults and rules
prohibiting women from covering criminal cases or fires.
source : the jakarta globe
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