INDONESIA: Inquiry into 1965 massacre must be continued
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INDONESIA: Crime against Humanity - state-organised mass killings, disappearances, torture, long-term political imprisonment and lifelong discrimination, threats to human rights defenders
This is an Urgent Appeal to all concerned with supporting the victims of one of the most horrific crimes of the 20th Century: Indonesia's 1965 massacre. The first preliminary investigation into the massacre is in danger of being shelved because the human rights commissioners are being harassed by militia gangs and lobbied by political elite connected to the Suharto's military rule. We are asking you to immediately email the commissioners of Komnas HAM to urge them to continue and deepen the inquiry into the massacre leading to the formation of an effective human rights tribunal. You can do this very quickly and simply at this page.
Below you will find the relevant background
information and the details for how to act if you can't access
the internet.
BACKGROUND
During the 1965 massacre, Suharto organised the extermination of
an estimated 1 million unarmed civilians, the political
imprisonment and torture of 200,000 political opponents and the
life-long exclusion and discrimination of anyone with suspected
links to Communism. This was ideological genocide.
Nothing has been done about this massacre. It's as if it
never happened, or if it did it was the right thing to do.
The authorities have ignored evidence painstakingly compiled by
families of the victims, eyewitness reports and dozens of
skeletons uncovered from mass graves.
In these conditions, the announcement of a preliminary inquiry by
the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) was a big
breakthrough for those seeking to bring the facts of this
massacre into the light of day.
However, the inquiry has suffered from miniscule resources and a ludicrous 6-month time frame. In this time, the investigation team has only been able to research incidents that occurred in two locations: on the infamous Buru Island prison camp, and a massacre that occurred in Semarang, Central Java. Even this tiny part of the crime should be enough to warrant a much deeper investigation, as necessary for any gross violation of human rights.
However, Komnas HAM is facing immense
pressure to shelve the inquiry. The investigators have been
personally threatened by telephone. General Wiranto has
publicly demanded an end to the investigation into Suharto-era
crimes. A 500-strong militia gang has protested at the Komnas HAM
headquarters, threatening grave violence if the investigation
into the 1965 case is continued. Top-level professors from
the University of Indonesia are lobbying the commissioners to
keep silent about the massacre. It can even be said that
some of the commissioners themselves have a personal interest in
stopping the investigation because of their history during the
Suharto era.
The Inquiry Team will deliver its report on the 15th of May,
meeting its incredibly short deadline despite severe constraints
on resources. Komnas HAM will be deciding whether to
seriously investigate this crime against humanity or to forget it
ever happened.
SUGGESTED ACTION
We are asking you to write to the commissioners of Komnas HAM and
demand that the investigation into this case be continued.
You can send an email directly to the commissioners by the
following link:
Click here to send an email to the commissioners
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