It is customary for the older generation to tell the younger generation a living memory of what the nation has been. For the survival of a nation and its own identity, a closely guarded national conscience is of paramount importance. It is such jealously guarded conscience that provides the foundation of a nation. Without such conscience, the nation would easily fall apart with the slightest turmoil.
What then is the content of such conscience?
When examined closely, the great respect with which life has been guarded emerge prominent. This profound respect for life manifests itself from the manner that the dead have been respected. The rituals surrounding funerals, the manner that the dead bodies are respected and adorned, the place of burials, and customs following the burials all tend to confirm the tremendous respect with which life has been upheld.
While such expressions of respect are not confined to the earthly existence, various forms of rites and rituals are devised by different nations to ascertain its continuity. Besides, the family bonds are such among the kith and kin, it is seen as an obligation and a right to recover the body of a deceased person and pay the last respect, so that they feel that something that owed to him/her is respectfully paid. A denial of this right offends the grieved party profoundly. It is no secret that the families suffer immensely the loss of a loved one, particularly when his/her body is missing and their right for the last respect is denied.
How can Indonesia cover its nakedness?
It is no secret that thousands of people were massacred in 1965 under Suharto regime, the conservative estimates the figure at one and half million. The same legacy continued though to a lesser degree till the dawn of the second millennium. All attempts since then have been directed either at denial or legitimation. Furthermore, the government is trying to withdraw numerous high school history textbooks in which the history of September Massacre is not the official version. Till recently, schools played the songs that extolled the saving of a nation by killing its own people. Such ideological barrage has the sad effect of creating a warped conscience in the nation: if the other is deemed an enemy, killing is justified, and even the dead body can be denied to the families.
From example of other countries such as Germany, one can see the fruits of a genuine attempt to reflect honestly on a nations past. Countries who have not done so will continue to spend decades with denying facts, arguing about identity and face criticism internally as well as externally. The facts are known internationally, but how will Indonesia be known as a nation? A nation denying its own identity, a nation denying its own past and a nation not respecting its victims dignity.
The International Day of the Disappeared, 30 August
The international day of the disappeared on the 30 August is an occasion for Indonesia to ask some relevant questions as a nation. Does the nation want to leave behind for the future generations, millions of disappearances without knowing the reasons or the perpetrators? Is the country mature enough to recognise the crime committed, to resolve and adopt adequate measures to prevent its recurrence? In the light of the above, we at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong recommend the following:
1. Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance and pass corresponding national legislation;
2. Authorise Komnas HAM to conduct investigations into past and present claims of disappearances and allow their findings to be presented to Prosecutor General for prosecution;
3. All the investigations conducted by Komnas HAM on cases of disappearances be treated as Gross Human Rights Violations and be prosecuted at the Ad-Hoc Human Rights Tribunal without further delay as a tangible commitment of the government to prevent future disappearances;
4. Relating institutions such as House of Representatives and Attorney General Office should recognize the investigation result of Komnas HAM and establish the Ad-Hoc Human Rights Tribunal without delays. Gross violation of human rights is definitely legal problem which needs legal solution, and cannot be settled by political compromises.
5. Construct a public monument for all past disappearances, where the members of the families can come and mourn the dead to which they have a right;
6. Provide adequate compensation to members of the families of the disappeared, provide scholarship to their children and preference be given in employment;
7. Amend history books so as to correct the past records, exonerate the innocent and assert the dignity of the maligned.
