Mar 3, 2023 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Dozens of parliamentarians from several Southeast Asian countries urged the ASEAN and the international community at large to take swift and concrete action against the illegal military junta led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and provide real assistance to the pro-democracy forces in Myanmar, following a roundtable discussion on the Myanmar crisis held today in Jakarta.
The discussion, which was part of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights’ (APHR) annual members’ forum, was held at the Indonesian House of Representatives and included parliamentarians and civil society organizations from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Myanmar itself.
“The crisis in Myanmar is causing a humanitarian catastrophe of gigantic proportions. The junta’s atrocities have displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Adding to previous displacements before the coup, the number of internally displaced persons in Myanmar now stands at more than a record 1.3 million. The sole responsible for this disaster is the junta led by Min Aung Hlaing, and it is high time that ASEAN stop treating it with kid gloves. Strong pressure to isolate the Myanmar military is more imperative and urgent than ever,” said Mercy Barends, member of the Indonesian House of Representatives and APHR Chair.
According to the local organization Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), over 16,000 political prisoners are currently jailed in abysmal conditions, and at least 3,075 people have been killed by the military since the coup, although AAPP believes that the number is likely many times higher.
These conditions also extend to parliamentarians in the country. According to APHR monitoring, 84 members of the national and sub-national parliaments remain in detention, facing not only the risk of torture in prison but also possible risk of execution following the executions of four pro-democracy activists, including former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw. Most ousted parliamentarians continue their work in hiding and are at risk of detention or even death. Some have had their family members harassed and their properties seized by the junta.
“What is happening in Myanmar is an affront to humanity and we, as fellow humans, should take it seriously and not stand idly as the military continues to violate the human rights of the Myanmar people. We, Parliamentarians across Southeast Asia must work together in putting the country back into a path towards democracy. One of the first steps is to recognize the National Unity Government and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) as the legitimately elected representatives of the people of Myanmar and involve them in any future negotiations,” said António de Sá Benevides, member of Parliament of Timor Leste and APHR Member.
The International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar, which was organized by APHR in 2022, found that the global community has largely failed to provide the help that the people of Myanmar sorely need. ASEAN and the international community at large have hidden behind the Five Point Consensus, which the Myanmar junta has continually and blatantly flouted.
“As Chair of ASEAN this year, the biggest and most democratic country in the region, Indonesia has a duty to step up and tell the generals in Naypyidaw that enough is enough. After the failed approach of Cambodia last year, appeasing the generals and ignoring the pro-democracy movement, Jakarta should put significant pressure on the Myanmar military, and support the pro-democracy forces led by the NUG, if it is serious about solving the crisis,” said Charles Santiago, former member of the Malaysian Parliament, and APHR Co-Chair.
Click here to read this statement in Thai.
Feb 3, 2023 | DFF, Opinion Articles
By Charles Santiago.
Two years after the coup d’état in Myanmar on 1 February 2021, the country has descended into a downward spiral as the junta led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing tries to consolidate its power with increasing brutality. Amid the fog of war engulfing Myanmar, two facts have become increasingly clear: the military has failed to take over the country amid widespread popular resistance; and the global community has failed to provide the help that the Myanmar people so badly need in their struggle for democracy.
Those were two of the main conclusions that an International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar, organized by ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), reached in a report published in November. The report laid bare the many inadequacies of the international community on Myanmar, in particular how it has hidden behind ASEAN, despite the regional bloc’s evident fecklessness in handling the issue so far. Little has changed since the report came out.
On both the domestic and international fronts, 2023 presents itself as a pivotal year for Myanmar. It is a time fraught with danger, as the junta plans to hold an election which will not serve to solve the crisis and is likely to trigger even more violence; for the time being, such plans have been put on hold, as Min Aung Hlaing extended on 1 February the state of emergency for another six months. He even admitted that more than a third of Myanmar’s townships are not controlled by the military.
What the military is unable to admit is that, in the conditions currently prevailing in Myanmar, there is not a remote possibility that any election organized by the junta can be minimally free and fair. And it is Min Aung Hlaing who has created these conditions. The military is persecuting the opposition with criminal ferocity while also viciously killing their own citizens on a daily basis. According to the local organization Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), over 13,600 political prisoners are currently jailed in abysmal conditions, and at least 2,810 people have been killed by the military since the coup, though the organization believes that the number is likely many times higher.
It is thus crucial that international actors, including ASEAN, do not get fooled by the electoral charade planned by Min Aung Hlaing as a desperate attempt to legitimize its illegal takeover. The Myanmar people already voted in 2020, and gave a resounding victory to the incumbent National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi. And the generals have never shown any evidence that those elections were marred by fraud, as they claim as their flimsy rationale for the coup.
The Myanmar people have clearly shown that they are not willing to accept a return to military rule. The representatives of the elected government and parliament who have managed to avoid being jailed, the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), along with leaders of the ethnic minorities, are working in drafting a new constitution that would establish a democratic federal system.
The global community should support those efforts. And, as Chair of ASEAN, Indonesia should take the first step by breaking with the regional group’s failed approach over the last two years, particularly under the chairmanship of Cambodia in 2021, with the government of Hun Sen engaging with the junta and thus conferring it a legitimacy it does not deserve.
The Myanmar military has disregarded from the outset the Five Point Consensus, which was signed by ASEAN member states and Min Aung Hlaing’s junta in April 2021, and was aimed at putting an end to the violence, foster negotiations between all stakeholders and deliver humanitarian aid. Such disregard only shows the utter contempt of the junta towards ASEAN itself and its member states, including Cambodia; and the group has proved incapable, or unwilling, to enforce the implementation of the agreement.
It is encouraging that the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, squarely blamed the junta for failing to implement the Five Point Consensus in November last year. Now, as Special Envoy to Myanmar, she should step up and lead ASEAN into changing tack on Myanmar.
Ibu Retno should begin with publicly acknowledging the NUG as the legitimate government in Myanmar, and engage with it, alongside allied ethnic organizations and the pro-democracy movement at large, on all issues. As a first step, the Minister should promote within ASEAN a new agreement to replace the failed Five Point Consensus. This new agreement should be negotiated with the NUG and allied forces, not with Min Aung Hlaing, and it should include clear benchmarks and enforcement mechanisms.
The Indonesian government should also recognize that the junta is repeatedly weaponizing aid, and cannot be trusted to deliver it in an effective manner. ASEAN should work through the NUG, ethnic organizations and Myanmar’s vibrant civil society to assist those affected by the humanitarian catastrophe befalling the country since the coup.
Lastly, Indonesia should promote sanctions against the generals, including efforts to impose an arms embargo, cutting the financial flows to the junta and travel bans in the region. The ASEAN Chair should also take a leading role in making the junta accountable for its horrible crimes.
As one of the largest democracies in the world, with experience in sending its own military back to the barracks after decades of dictatorship, Indonesia can, and should, play a positive role in supporting democracy in Myanmar. Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN presents a unique opportunity for the regional group to change course and begin to help at last the Myanmar people in their struggle against the murderous military. Let’s not miss this opportunity.
Charles Santiago is a former member of Parliament from Malaysia, and the co-chairperson of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
This article first appeared in The Jakarta Post.
Jan 26, 2023 | FoRB, Opinion Articles
By Eva Kusuma Sundari.
We Indonesians like to take pride in the national motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity). We like to boast that we are a nation of tolerant pluralists, especially at a time when intolerance and exclusivism are on the rise globally.
Yet President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s recent remarks about the importance of safeguarding freedom of religion and worship during a meeting of regional leaders are a timely reminder that Indonesia still has a long way to go on this front. Moreover, our country, as the current ASEAN chair and its biggest democracy should play a role in promoting human rights in the region, including freedom of religion and belief. And Indonesia should lead first by setting an example for other countries to follow.
“Religion and worship are guaranteed in our constitution,” Jokowi said during the opening of the National Coordination Meeting of Regional Heads and Regional Leaders Coordination Forums (FKPD) on Jan. 17. “This must be understood by the military district commander, the National Police chief, the regional police chief, the regional military commander, it must be understood by the Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office,” he added, sending a strong message to local administrations and other regional institutions to ensure people’s right to worship, regardless of their religion or belief, as mandated by Article 29 of the Constitution.
The issue of religious freedom at the regional level is a fraught one, as shown in various studies. PUSAD Paramadina researcher, Siswo Mulyartono, found at least 122 cases of local communities resisting the construction of houses of worship from 2015 to 2020, while human rights group Setara Institute recorded at least 573 disruptions to worship and places of worship across the country between 2007 and 2022.
What Jokowi failed to mention is the central government’s complicity in these violations of religious freedom. Many of these disturbances have occurred because intolerant actors feel empowered by a joint ministerial decree issued in 2006 that requires local resident approval for the construction of any new place of worship. All too often, this becomes an issue when minority religious communities look to build temples, churches or mosques in areas where residents are predominantly of another faith.
Even when the complicated technical and administrative requirements in the joint decree are satisfied, hardline groups often successfully block the construction of new houses of worship by citing the lack of some residents’ approval.
A case in point is the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor, West Java, whose construction permit was revoked in 2011 by the mayor under pressure from intolerant groups. In the end, even after the construction permit was upheld by the Constitutional Court, the church was relocated to a different site in 2021 after a 15-year legal fight.
Similarly, last year, a plan to build a church on land belonging to the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) in Cilegon, Banten, was also blocked by regional officials, despite the fact that the church had already gathered the names of 112 congregants and 70 local residents. To this day, Cilegon, home to over 7,000 Christians, remains without a church where its Christian population can attend religious services.
Those cases should remind the government that it is vital to ensure that the regulations are implemented on the ground in line with the Constitution. Another example is the mandatory hijab requirement in educational institutions, which is currently spreading in the country. This shows how neutral, or even positive, regulations can be twisted and wrongly implemented at the local level, resulting in massive violations of Indonesian women’s rights.
According to a recently published report from ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) titled Restricting Diversity: Mapping of Legislation of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is not alone in restricting people’s rights to worship in the region. Similar problematic regulations exist in other ASEAN countries, such as Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Government regulations and policies that hinder or prevent the fulfillment of citizens’ constitutional right to worship are contrary to the state’s human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). As the UN Human Rights Committee emphasizes, “freedom to manifest religion or belief in worship … extends to … the establishment of places of worship.”
Jokowi’s words at the meeting of regional leaders, as well as earlier remarks from Jokowi acknowledging and expressing regret for 12 cases of past gross human rights violations, are a welcome step in the right direction. But the President’s days are numbered. If he is to fulfill the promises to uphold human rights made when he first ran for president, he needs to take concrete action now.
Immediate actions should include, at least, repealing the 2006 joint ministerial decree on the construction of houses of worship, and providing comprehensive training to officials down to the regional level on freedom of religion and belief in order to correctly implement policies on the ground.
By doing that, Indonesia would unequivocally demonstrate its leadership as ASEAN chair in promoting and protecting freedom of religion or belief. As stated in article 22 of the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights: “Every person has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. All forms of intolerance, discrimination and incitement of hatred based on religion and beliefs shall be eliminated.”
Eva Kusuma Sundari is a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and a former member of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
This article first appeared in The Jakarta Post.
Dec 7, 2022 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s recently passed new Criminal Code includes problematic articles that could unduly restrict the right to freedom of religion or belief, freedom of speech and expression, as well as the right to privacy and sexual autonomy. This is a dismaying step backwards for the country, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) denounced today.
“While we understand the need for Indonesia’s Criminal Code, a product of colonial rule, to be revised, we are concerned with the amount of articles included in the Code that could be used to suppress civil rights as during the colonial era. We have made great strides towards democracy since the downfall of Suharto’s dictatorship, and the new Criminal Code threatens to reverse that progress,” said Eva Sundari, APHR Board Member and former Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, “The government and House claim to have opened room for input from civil society, but that was evidently just for the sake of appearances, as they have largely ignored objections from academics, experts and human rights defenders.”
The chapter ‘Crimes against Religion, Beliefs and Religious Life and Beliefs’ dangerously places “religion or belief” under the purview of the law, and the inclusion of an article that prohibits publicly showing “contempt” against religious leaders can be used against religious minorities, who have often been the target of blasphemy laws in Indonesia in the past.
In the last decade, the use of blasphemy laws in the country has skyrocketed. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) awarded Indonesia the dubious honor of being one of the 10 countries that most frequently enforce such laws, alongside Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
“Blasphemy laws only perpetuate intolerance and inter- and intra-religious conflict. This is particularly dangerous in a country as diverse as Indonesia, where peaceful coexistence and dialogue between different religious and ethnic groups should be encouraged,” said Sundari.
Besides the articles on religion, there are numerous other articles that threaten the hard-won rights to freedom of speech, expression, and assembly. One of them prohibits the spreading of communist and Marxist-Leninist teachings as well as that of “other ideologies that are contrary to Pancasila”. Other articles prohibit insults against the President, the Vice President, the government, and state institutions. The definitions in these articles are far too broad, opening up the door for them to be used against critics of those in power, said APHR.
Another article criminalizes holding unsanctioned public protests or demonstrations, in clear contradiction to the spirit of the Reformasi movement that brought about democratic reforms to Indonesia.
The articles criminalizing extramarital and premarital sex between two consenting adults as well as cohabitation of unmarried couples amount to another step backwards which clearly violates citizens’ right to privacy and opens up avenues for further persecution of the LGBTIQ community in the country.
“By drafting these problematic articles and allowing them to pass, the Joko Widodo administration has failed to live up to the commitment to democracy and human rights that it has so often claimed to espouse. The very least that President Joko Widodo can do is open the possibility for changes and judicial reviews within the next three years, before the new Criminal Code is fully in effect, and enact regulations that put strict limits on the articles that threaten human rights,” added Sundari.
Jun 29, 2022 | DFF, FoRB, Opinion Articles
By Eva Kusuma Sundari.
Almost a quarter of a century after the Indonesian people put an end to the dictatorship of General Suharto and embarked on a democratic transition uniquely successful in Southeast Asia, the country now finds itself at risk of taking major steps backwards on fundamental freedoms with the proposed overhaul of its Criminal Code.
If approved, some of the proposed changes would severely curtail the right to privacy and freedom of expression for Indonesians, and religious and sexual minorities would be vulnerable to legal abuses. According to the local human rights organization Aliansi Nasional Reformasi KUHP, the Draft Criminal Code contains 24 problematic provisions, ranging from the crime of insulting the president or the vice president and the criminalization of extramarital sex and cohabitation to crimes against religion.
The updating of the Indonesian Criminal Code, which dates back to the era when the country was a Dutch colony, is long overdue. But it is more important for lawmakers to get it right than do it hastily, and end up with another code reminiscent of colonial times, detrimental to democracy and good governance. They also need to be fully open with the citizenry about the process and the contents of the new draft, and allow more participation from civil society and the Indonesian public at large. Once adopted, the new Criminal Code will not be easy to amend, so any change adopted now is bound to have a long-term impact.
The process has been enormously tortuous so far. Initiated more than two decades ago, the overhaul has gone through several bumps and reversals. The draft was eventually finished in September 2019, and it was expected to be approved that year. But a huge popular movement opposed it, holding mass protests across the country that sometimes turned violent and resulted in five deaths. The bill was sent to parliament that year for deliberation and has been stuck there ever since.
But in late May this year, the government and the parliament discussed the modification of problematic provisions contained in the draft, and agreed to follow up the process without reopening discussions on the proposed legislation. The committee tasked with drafting the changes in the Criminal Code has done so behind closed doors, without consulting civil society or even new MPs, arguing that the draft “has already been agreed by the committee.”
The government and parliament argue that it is a carry-over bill, a law that has gone through deliberations and is slated to be voted in the next parliamentary session, suddenly showing a haste that, after so many years, is uncalled for. These maneuverings have been described by Muhammad Isnur, head of Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), as “symptoms of authoritarianism.”
Despite claims by the government that 14 unpopular provisions have been amended, the draft Criminal Code remains potentially discriminatory on certain points, excessively punitive on others, and generally detrimental to democratic principles.
One of the most problematic aspects of the draft is its blasphemy article. Human Rights Watch has denounced the fact that it expands the 1965 Blasphemy Law and increases the number of “elements of the crime” to include, for instance, the defamation of religious artifacts.
This is particularly worrying given that blasphemy cases have skyrocketed in recent years. According to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), there were 38 cases between January and May 2020, whereas SETARA Institute recorded a total of only six cases in 2014. Religious minority groups like the Shia, Ahmadi, Baha’i, or Jehovah’s Witnesses are usually the main victims of blasphemy laws, with legal processes often initiated by public pressure. And some of the people charged with blasphemy are minors.
As Islamists are gaining ground amid what some scholars have termed a “conservative turn” in Indonesia, the last thing that the country needs now is to widen the scope of its Blasphemy Law. If the Indonesian government is serious about protecting freedom of religion or belief for its people, it should scrap the law.
The LGBTIQ community will fare no better. The punishment of extramarital sex and cohabitation can potentially be used against homosexual couples, who do not have the right to marry, while the criminalization of “obscene acts” in public can also be used to target LGBTIQ people.
Also, some of the new provisions could drastically restrict the space for political debate. One of the articles would make it punishable to “attack the honor and dignity of the President and the Vice-President.” Other problematic articles include jail sentences for “spreading Marxist-Leninist teachings” or for association with Marxist organizations “with the intent of changing the policy of the government.”
The revision of the Criminal Code is a major legal project that will affect all Indonesians one way or another. And it should not be aimed at strengthening the government’s authority, but at protecting the rights of all Indonesians. If the government wishes to keep to the democratic path that Indonesia chose 24 years ago, it should reopen the debate on the draft with civil society, and listen with special attention those who would be most negatively affected by the proposed laws, including religious and sexual minorities, in order to make sure that laws are designed to protect them, not to persecute them.
Eva Kusuma Sundari is a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and a former member of Indonesian House of Representatives.
This article first appeared in The Diplomat.
