Human rights victims voice protest against Dems-Gerindra coalition

A coalition of organizations sheltering victims of human rights violations submitted Wednesday a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party to protest against the party's plan to form a coalition with the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), saying it would harm the human rights movement in the country.

"Right after submitting the letter this afternoon, we were informed that Mas Anas [Urbaningrum, the Democratic Party chairman] had agreed to schedule a meeting with us soon to discuss our protest," said Yati, an official with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violences (Kontras).

Gerindra patron Maj. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto has been linked to the abduction of human rights activists during the 1998 political turmoil, the East Timor conflict and the Semanggi student shootings.

In a letter obtained by The Jakarta Post, the coalition asked the Democratic Party to drop its plan to invite Gerindra into its ailing coalition, "not only because it had affected victims of past human rights violations and their families, but had also undermined law enforcement efforts in the country."

Aside from Kontras, among the organizations endorsing the letter are the Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI), the Victims Solidarity Network for Justice (JSKK) and coalitions of victims of the 1965 massacre, the 1984 Tanjung Priok tragedy and the 1998 political turmoil.