Rivals Challenge Indonesia Election Results

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri launched a Constitutional Court challenge Tuesday to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s landslide re-election victory.

Megawati received 26.79 percent of votes in the July 8 poll and Kalla 12.41 percent, while Yudhoyono received 60.8 percent, according to the final count released by the General Election Commission Saturday.

But Megawati believes she has won 35.09 percent compared to 48.70 percent for Yudhoyono, close enough to force the pair to contest a run-off in September, her chief legal adviser Gayus Lumbuun said.

“A lot of foul play in the election has meant people in this country have not been able to use their constitutional rights,” Firman Jaya Daeli, a member of Megawati’s camp, told reporters.

Megawati claims millions of voters — out of around 170 million who eligible in the world’s third-biggest democracy — were disenfranchised by inaccurate voter lists and insufficient polling booths in key districts.

Both defeated candidates had alleged that the voter lists were flawed in the run-up to the elections, amid claims that duplicate names and those of dead people were appearing on the electoral rolls.

Kalla has also challenged the results at the Constitutional Court. He said his challenge was about protecting the future of democracy in a country that emerged from 32 years of dictatorship only 11 years ago.

“The principle is that this nation must progress properly, honestly and democratically, because the democratic process must be implemented correctly and fairly,” Kalla said

Supporters of Kalla have alleged that electoral lists contained around 20 million duplicate names.

Election Supervisory Body chief Nur Hidayat Sardini said that “there were many violations,” but said the polls were “considered a success.”

President Yudhoyono was elected president in 2004 and Indonesians have, correspondents say, been impressed by his ability to manage the economy and clamp down on corruption.

Many see President Yudhoyono as someone who has turned the economy around and brought much-needed stability and security to the country.

For more information, please see:
BBC – Indonesia poll result challenged – 25 July 2009

Reuters – Indonesia president’s rivals cry foul after poll win – 25 July 2009

AFP – Megawati challenges Indonesia vote result – 28 July 2009

Libya Asks for Return of Terminally Ill Lockerbie Bomber

By Ann Flower Seyse
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

LONDON, United Kingdom– Libyan authorities have formally asked Scotland for the compassionate release of Abdel Basset al Megrahi. Megrahi is the former Libyan agent that was sentenced to life in 2001 for the bombing of a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988.

A Scottish government spokeswoman confirmed the application for compassionate release on July 25. Libya has been bringing up al Megrahi often in official conversations with Great Britain. Earlier in July Megrahi’s fate was brought up by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The British government has deferred the issue to Scotland, which has a separate legal system from Britain. Now Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill will consider whether or not to grant the application.

Al Megrahi is currently appealing his conviction for the second time, but the hearing is not expected to conclude until next year. Fifty- seven year old al Megrahi was diagnosed with terminal testicular cancer last year. His doctors do not believe that he would live to the end of the appeal.

The Lockerbie bombing resulted in the deaths of all 259 people on board the London to New York flight, as well as eleven people on the ground. Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing in 2005, and agreed to pay 2.7 billion dollars in compensation to the victim’s families. This gesture helped to restore relations between Libya and the west. This announcement shifted public perspective on al Megrahi. Originally al Megrahi was perceived as being solely responsible for the bombing and after Libya claimed reponsibility, al Megrahi  was viewed more as an agent of Libya following his orders. Even some relatives of victims of the bombings support sending al Megrahi home, doubting both his guilt and the conviction.

Ultimately the decision to release al Megrahi lies with the Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, who has ninety days to make his decision. It is expected MacAskill will make his decision in the first week of August. Last year he released three prisoners on compassionate requests, although typically only people with three months to live or less are released.

For more information please see,

The Guardian – Sick Lockerbie Bomber Pleads for Release – 26 July 2009

AFP – Lockerbie Bomber asks for Compassionate Release – 25 July 2009

BBC – Ill Megrahi Seeks Prison Release – 25 July 2009

The Herald – Megrahi Requests Release from Jail on Compassionate Grounds – 25 July 2009

Reuters – Libya asks for Lockerbie Bomber to be Freed – 25 July 2009

HIV Affected Families in Cambodia Told to Relocate

 

By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TUOL SAMBO, Cambodia – In June 2009, the Cambodian government forcibly relocated 20 HIV-affected families to substandard housing at Tuol Sambo, a remote site 24 kilometers from the city. On July 23, the government moved another 20 HIV-affected families to the site.

The green sheds that are now home to these families in Tuol Sambo are referred to as the “AIDS village.” The sheds lack running water and adequate sanitation according to Human Rights Watch. “By bundling people living with HIV together into second-rate housing, far from medical facilities, support services, and jobs, the government has created a de facto AIDS colony,” said Shiba Phurailatpam of the Asia-Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. She further commented, “It’s hard to understand how a government that has received international recognition for its HIV-prevention efforts could so callously ignore the basic rights of people with HIV.”

Dozens of humanitarian agencies and regional groups sent a joint letter to Cambodia’s prime minister and health minister, asking the leaders to urgently address the unsanitary conditions in Tuol Sambo.

The joint letter stressed that conditions in Tuol Sambo do not meet the international standards for even temporary emergency housing. “The housing conditions in Tuol Sambo pose serious health risks for families living there… People living with HIV have compromised immune systems and are especially vulnerable. For them, these substandard conditions can mean a death sentence,” said Rebecca Shleifer, health and human rights advocate at Human Rights Watch.

The letter called on the Cambodian government to initiate a fair and open process with regards to housing services and to stop exposing HIV-affected families to further stigma and discrimination. “People living with HIV – like all others – need adequate living conditions that do not threaten their health and a way to earn a livelihood, so that they can provide for themselves and their families,” said Kevin Moody of The Global Network of People living with HIV.

The letter was delivered July 27. Many members of human rights agencies and health organizations eagerly await a response.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Cambodia: Aids Colony Violates Rights – July 27, 2009

Phnom Penh Post – Final HIV Families Withdraw – July   27, 2009 

Japan Becomes First in Asia to Ratify Disappearances Convention

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

UNITED NATIONS– Japan ratified a UN human rights treaty on ending impunity for enforced disappearances.  The Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN submitted its ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (“Disappearances Convention”) to the Secretary-General’s office on July 23, 2009.  Japan is the first country in Asia and the 12th country in the world to ratify the Convention.

Primer_afad_cover (Source: Asia Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances)

The Disappearances Convention’s goal is to prevent enforced disappearance, find the truth when this crime occurs, and to punish those responsible for the crime while providing reparations to the victims and their families.  The Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006, and it is the product of long and arduous efforts by families, NGOs and governments to address the problem of enforced disappearance through international law.
 
Christopher Hall of Amnesty International said, “The Disappearances Convention is one of the strongest human rights treaties ever adopted by the United Nations.  In the past, the perpetrators of this crime…were unlikely to be held accountable for their conduct…the Disappearances Convention is an important tool for the international community to half this trend.”
 
Amnesty International added that Japan must now take steps to fulfill its obligation under the Convention by enacting or amending any legislation necessary to implement the Convention.  Hall also said taking these steps will ensure that perpetrators are held responsible, and by doing so, “Japan will set an important example for the world – and other Asian countries – to follow.”
 
The Japanese government released a statement via its Foreign Ministry website saying that the ratification of the Convention is “meaningful in showing the international community the strong intention of Japan to oppose enforced disappearances….”
 
The Disappearances Convention prescribes that enforced disappearances, including abductions in the international community, is a punishable crime.  As of July 24, 2009, among the 81 countries listed as signatories, 12 countries (including Japan) have ratified the Convention.  To enter into force, the Convention must be ratified by 20 countries.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Japan commits to ending impunity for enforced disappearances – 28 July 2009

Diplomacy Monitor – Deposit of the Instrument of Ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance – 24 July 2009

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance – 20 December 2006

 

   

New Attack On Freeport Mine

By Angela Marie Watkins
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Three more people were wounded by gunfire Wednesday at the world’s largest gold mine, the latest ambush targeting employees of U.S. conglomerate Freeport in Indonesia’s underdeveloped Papua province.

Freeport said in a statement that several employees and their security detail were fired upon Wednesday while driving along the road where the previous shootings occurred to help a broken down vehicle. A mechanic and two policemen were shot, it said.

National police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said the attack was carried out by unidentified gunmen and that the three injuries were caused by shrapnel. The culprits escaped.

Two other policemen died Wednesday when their car flipped “while driving at high speed through a dangerous area” a few miles (kilometers) away, said local police chief Lt. Col. Godhelp Mansnembra.

It is the sixth attack by an unidentified gunman on the Phoenix, Ariz.-based company in under two weeks and the road targeted by the shootings, which links the Grasberg mining complex with the town of Timika, has been declared off limits unless employees travel with security. In the same area, a 29-year-old Australian, an Indonesian security guard working for Freeport, and a policeman died in ambushes earlier this month. In the same area, two American teachers and their Indonesian colleague were killed in a 2002 attack.

The series of attacks, which have killed two people and wounded dozens since they began July 11, comes as Indonesia recovers from twin suicide bombings in the capital, Jakarta, that killed seven people and wounded dozens, including two Freeport executives.

Wednesday’s attack comes a day after authorities said they rounded up 15 suspects allegedly behind the recent killings. Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson said Tuesday that six of them had been charged, including a man who apparently acknowledged being a sniper.

Papua is home to a four-decade-old, low-level insurgency against the government, and members of the Free Papua Movement who see Freeport as a symbol of outside rule and were initially blamed by authorities for the latest violence.

However, some experts believe the shootings resulted from a rivalry between the police and military over multimillion-dollar illegal gold mining or protection businesses at the mine. Others blame criminal gangs.

It is difficult to get accurate information out of Papua, a remote and highly militarized area that is off limits to foreign journalists.

Freeport has been targeted with arson, roadside bombs and blockades since production began in the 1970s during the U.S.-backed Suharto dictatorship. It is also regularly the focus of protests by local residents who feel they are not benefiting from the depletion of Papua’s natural resources.

For more information, please see:
CBS News – Freeport’s Workers Again Under Attack In Indonesia – 24 July 2009

Jakarta Post – Shooting incident hits Freeport again – 25 July 2009

Jakarta Post – Freeport employees back in work – 25 July 2009