exclusive

It will take about two to three years for a human rights commission to truly establish itself in its role as an independent watchdog on human rights issues, said Indonesian Human Rights Commission (Komnas Ham) adviser Marzuki Darusman.

He said that was how long it took Komnas Ham to gain credence, both locally and internationally.

"In the beginning there was a lot of skepticism that a government established commission would be able to be independent from the government. This was the situation in the first six months," he said.

However, later Komnas Ham was seen to be anti-establishment especially after releasing its findings on a number of controversial inquiries.

He said that it took the commission between two and three years before it won all-round recognition as a truly independent body.

The former attorney-general told malaysiakini in an exclusive interview that Komnas Ham has also been credited with addressing, without fear or favour, human rights violations committed by the armed forces in Indonesia.

More powers and staff

Marzuki, who was also head of the commission before assuming the adviser's post, said the commission is now looking into the introduction of a new law which will give it more powers and commissioners as well.

"In terms of effectiveness, it's going through a redefining process," he said.

Marzuki also said that his high position in the ruling party Golkar was never a stumbling block for him to assume the vice-chair in the commission when it was established in 1993.

"I was asked to leave Parliament and I was still in Golkar. But it was not a constraining factor because at that point, the choice was clear... the commission was so much more relevant than the political party itself."

Marzuki revealed that deposed president Suharto and the armed forces especially were always apprehensive each time the commission came out with any report during its early years.

"It was always a tense situation whenever we announce we would be coming out with a finding. We would always have the armed forces reacting very visibly compared with the civilian government."

He added that the armed forces played an obstructionist role in the subsequent governments too.

Same tribulations

The 17-month-old Human Rights Commission of Malaysia appears to be undergoing some of the tribulations Komnas Ham has experienced.

Known by its Malay acronym Suhakam, Malaysia's human rights commission is also facing credibility problems with the government led by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, which has been responding very defensively to the human rights reports published by the commission thus far.

Suhakam has been accused of being "western-thinking" and "unrealistic" for suggesting that the authorities, especially the police, had violated human rights at last year's 100,000 People's Gathering on the Kesas highway.