2021 and Human Rights Situation in Indonesia

Rini Kusnadi

It was in 2012 when I used my right to vote in the election for the first time. And it was because of Joko Widodo, the current President of Indonesia, running for governor of DKI Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Before he ran for governor of DKI Jakarta, Jokowi was mayor of Solo and enjoyed an exceptionally good reputation due to his unusual approach in managing the city and solving the social problems they had at that time. I strongly believed that he would bring changes in the capital city of Jakarta and make new breakthroughs to overcome acute problems that existed such as traffic jam, flood, eviction, and so forth.

When Jokowi ran in the Presidential election in 2014, there was huge euphoria among human rights activists in Indonesia. Many of them publicly decided to join Jokowi’s team to help him win the election. Besides, back then, Prabowo Subianto was also running in the presidential election. Prabowo was a former military general, former in-law of the dictator Soeharto (who ruled the country for 31 years, from 1967-1998), and was appointed as commander of the army’s special forces under Soeharto from the 1970s until the 1990s. Prabowo was implicated in human rights violations in the past, including the enforced disappearances of pro-democracy activists months before the collapse of the Soeharto regime. The activists did not want Prabowo to win the election due to his involvement in human rights violation in the past.

Moreover, during his presidential campaign in 2014, Joko Widodo also strongly declared publicly that he has a serious commitment to resolve various cases of past human rights violation in the past and eradicating impunity. He even held meetings with victims and families of victims of human rights violation in the past. Something that no presidential candidate had ever done before in Indonesia. In addition to that various civil society organizations such as Kontras and Civil Society Coalition and including families of the victims of human rights violation in the past issued a statement stating “do not vote for a presidential candidate committed to human rights violation.” Jokowi finally managed to beat his strong rival, Prabowo Subianto, and won the election. For the second time in my life, I also decided to use my voting rights due to his commitment to human rights issues. His pledges on human rights issues are even included in his vision, mission, and action program which is known as Nawa Cita.

Back then, he reiterated his commitment to resolve eight cases of human rights violation in the past such as: the enforced disappearances of pro-democracy activists by 1998, the Talangsari case, the May 1998 riots of Indonesia, the Trisakti case, Semanggi I, Semanggi II, the Tanjung Priuk case, and the Tragedy of 1965. However, there is no significant progress that has been made until Jokowi finishes his first term as President of Republic Indonesia.

I am truly aware that resolving human rights violations, particularly past human rights violations, is basically not easy because there are ideological and political problems. It is shown through the case of Timor Timur and the Tanjungpriok case (which was solved through ad hoc human rights court). The incident ended without conviction of the perpetrator by the court; both because of the weak accusation and due to weakness of the evidence. Meanwhile, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) provided through Law (UU) No. 27 of 2014 failed to be implemented following the Constitutional Court decision which annulled the law.

Democracy in Jokowi’s Second Term

One year after he was re-elected as President of Indonesia in 2019, numerous civil society organizations released a strong statement on the democracy situation in Indonesia. The Director of Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia (Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation), Asfinawati, stated that Democracy is under threat. This is related to the worsening of the civil liberties in Indonesia in the context of freedom of speech and assembly. She pointed out the number of restrictions on gathering or demonstrating, forced disbandment, organizational restrictions, and intimidation. Based on data collected by the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation in 16 provinces in Indonesia, throughout 2019, 6,128 people were victims of violations of freedom of speech and assembly. The data also showed that violations of civil liberties in Jokowi’s second term were getting worse. According to Asfinawati, the highest percentage of victims of freedom of speech and assembly were college students at 43 percent. Meanwhile, most violators were police at 69 percent.

Another survey conducted by Saiful Mujani Research Center (SMRC) released in November 2019 also concluded that the civil liberties in Jokowi’s second term is declining. Based on the survey conducted in May-June 2019, 43 percent respondents said they were afraid to express their opinions. This figure has increased significantly compared to 2014 (during his first term) which was only 24 percent.

Despite all the challenges, limitations, and fragmentation faced by the civil societies organizations in Indonesia, numerous efforts have been made to hold the state responsible for the past and current human rights violation cases. For instance, we build coalitions to respond to certain issues, initiating political parties, and initiating unification. Grassroot organizations also build international solidarity with what is happening in Asian countries (Myanmar and Hong Kong for instance) through various instruments. This kind of effort to build international solidarity needs to be maintained and elevated. Apart from that we also need to create new breakthroughs in gathering support from the public on these issues so they can add more pressure to the government.