Indonesia
24.08.00
Urgent Interventions
Indonesia: Disappearance
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
IDN 001 / 0008 / OBS 087
Disappearance
Indonesia
24th August 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a programme of FIDH and OMCT, requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Indonesia.
Brief description of the situation :
The Observatory has received information from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the "Association Démocratie Indonésie Libertés" (ADIL) regarding the reported disappearance of Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, head of the International Forum for Aceh, based in New York, on the evening of Saturday 5th August 2000 when he failed to turn up for an appointment in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
According to reports, he failed to return to the house where he was staying in Medan that night and his family, whom he normally telephoned every few hours as a safety precaution, has had no contact with him since this date. Furthermore, no record of him has been found in local hospitals. It has been noted that when he returned to Aceh this summer, he was immediately aware that he was being followed. He did not want to be outdoors late at night and made sure that friends and family knew where he was at all times.
Jafar had planned to spend the summer in Aceh setting up a network to document human rights violations and to work for a resolution of the political conflict. He was also hoping to open an office there of the International Forum on Aceh
The Observatory is gravely concerned for his physical and psychological integrity and strongly believes that his disappearance is linked to his work as a human rights defender.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities urging them to:
i. immediately identify the whereabouts of Jafar Siddiq Hamzah and guarantee his physical and psychological integrity;
ii. abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted on the 9th of December 1998, by the U.N. General Assembly (“Declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms”), particularly, Article 1 (see above) and Article 6.c which mandates that « everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters ».
iii. more generally abide by the Universal declaration on Human Rights and Covenants and international Conventions ratified by Indonesia.
Addresses
Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia, Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Istana Negara, Indonesia. Fax: 62-21- 345 7782
Mr. Marzuki Durusman, National Human Rights Commission, Kartika Chandra Office Tower, R. 201-202, Jl Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, 1206 Indonesia, Fax: 62-21-392 5227
Geneva - Paris, 24th August 2000
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken, quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency Line: Fax : 33 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel. : FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39
E-mail observatoire@iprolink.ch
IDN 001 / 0008 / OBS 087
Disappearance
Indonesia
24th August 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a programme of FIDH and OMCT, requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Indonesia.
Brief description of the situation :
The Observatory has received information from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the "Association Démocratie Indonésie Libertés" (ADIL) regarding the reported disappearance of Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, head of the International Forum for Aceh, based in New York, on the evening of Saturday 5th August 2000 when he failed to turn up for an appointment in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
According to reports, he failed to return to the house where he was staying in Medan that night and his family, whom he normally telephoned every few hours as a safety precaution, has had no contact with him since this date. Furthermore, no record of him has been found in local hospitals. It has been noted that when he returned to Aceh this summer, he was immediately aware that he was being followed. He did not want to be outdoors late at night and made sure that friends and family knew where he was at all times.
Jafar had planned to spend the summer in Aceh setting up a network to document human rights violations and to work for a resolution of the political conflict. He was also hoping to open an office there of the International Forum on Aceh
The Observatory is gravely concerned for his physical and psychological integrity and strongly believes that his disappearance is linked to his work as a human rights defender.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities urging them to:
i. immediately identify the whereabouts of Jafar Siddiq Hamzah and guarantee his physical and psychological integrity;
ii. abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted on the 9th of December 1998, by the U.N. General Assembly (“Declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms”), particularly, Article 1 (see above) and Article 6.c which mandates that « everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters ».
iii. more generally abide by the Universal declaration on Human Rights and Covenants and international Conventions ratified by Indonesia.
Addresses
Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia, Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Istana Negara, Indonesia. Fax: 62-21- 345 7782
Mr. Marzuki Durusman, National Human Rights Commission, Kartika Chandra Office Tower, R. 201-202, Jl Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, 1206 Indonesia, Fax: 62-21-392 5227
Geneva - Paris, 24th August 2000
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken, quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency Line: Fax : 33 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel. : FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39
E-mail observatoire@iprolink.ch