WRITTEN QUESTION E-1819/02

by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission

(27 June 2002)

Subject: Indonesia

Would the Commission outline what action the EU is taking to encourage the Indonesian authorities to urgently:

1. expel all Laskar Jihad and other non-local fighters from the Moluccas, Sulawesi and West Papua;

2. ensure that Jafar Umar Thalib, leader of the Laskar Jihad, is prosecuted for the crimes that he is accused of committing, including the recent massacre at Soya, Ambon;

3. ensure that the Indonesian military and police act fairly and responsibly in their efforts to keep the peace in the Moluccas, Sulawesi and West Papua;

4. ensure that the 3 000 Moluccan Christians on the Halmehera, Bacan, Buru and Seram islands who have been forced to convert to Islam by Muslim militants are urgently evacuated to a place of safety.

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(19 July 2002)

The Commission's Delegation in Jakarta, together with the diplomatic missions of the Member States, closely follows the security and related human rights developments throughout Indonesia and participates in all Union démarches to draw attention to concerns regarding human rights issues in Indonesia. The Commission shares the stated position of the Union, firmly supporting Indonesia's territorial integrity, while encouraging the Government to make urgent efforts to address and resolve peacefully Indonesia's internal conflicts, whether separatist or sectarian in character. Like the majority of the international community, the Commission considers that these internal conflicts are primarily the responsibility of Indonesia, and should be addressed first and foremost by the Indonesian Government, and by civil society organisations, the religious communities and other institutions in peaceful dialogue, within the rule of law, and respecting human rights without favour to any particular group.

Ongoing violence in the Moluccas as well as in the provinces of Aceh, Sulawesi and Papua is a matter of continuing concern. The investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of human rights abuses in East Timor, up to and including September 1999, is still unresolved, although the Indonesian authorities have appointed in January 2002 an ad hoc Human Rights tribunal to investigate these abuses.

Following the Indonesian Parliament's approval in November 2001 of regional autonomy laws for Aceh and Irian Jaya (to be called thereafter Papua), and of decentralisation laws for all the other provinces, their implementation could make a significant contribution to reducing the difficulties. To support this process in the longer term, the Commission envisages within its draft country strategy for assistance to Indonesia to focus on encouraging good governance and the rule of law in the framework of the Government's decentralisation and regional autonomy policies.

The Government of Indonesia led by President Megawati is, the Commission believes, making a real effort to balance the internal tensions and to encourage the settlement of disputes peacefully with respect for human rights. Their role in the brokering of the recent Malino peace accords between the Christian and Moslem communities in the Moluccas and the rival groups in Sulawesi are examples.

The Commission is appreciative of the efforts of the Government of Indonesia to co-operate with the international alliance against terrorism. It has noted that the leader of the Laskar Jihad movement, Mr Jafar Umar Thalib, has been arrested in the Moluccas and is now held in custody in Jakarta. It encourages the Government of Indonesia to apply thoroughly the due processes of law as appropriate in this and other cases.

The Commission is providing humanitarian assistance for the victims of disputes, as well as financial assistance to help resolve disputes and to improve the human rights situation in Indonesia. The Moluccas have been a particular focus of Commission actions in this regard. Already since 1999 the Commission has provided EUR 4 600 000 in emergency aid to assist the victims, both Christian and Moslem, of the violence in the Moluccas particularly Internally Displaced Persons. For the future, Indonesia is a focus country for the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights 2002-2004. Already, in 2000 and 2001, four actions for a total value of EUR 1 862 880 have been funded under this Initiative through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. And an indicative amount of EUR 2 500 000 is programmed for further European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) actions to be financed during 2002.