Amnesty Presents 3 Human Rights Topics For The Debate Of Presidential Candidates To The KPU, There Are Serious Human Rights Violations

Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid when giving a statement at the Indonesian KPU Office, Jakarta, Wednesday (6/12/2023). (ANTARA/Rio Feisal)

Amnesty International Indonesia conveyed three human rights topics (HAM) to the General Elections Commission (KPU) to be included in the presidential and vice presidential debate agenda for the 2024 General Election.

The three topics are freedom of expression, human rights agenda to ensure that security forces have accountability and accountability, as well as gross human rights violations.

"Earlier, we said that freedom of expression was very urgent, in Indonesia there have been many cases, even four hundreds of cases," said Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid at the KPU Office, Jakarta, Wednesday, December 6, quoted by Antara.

"From the beginning of freedom of expression in Papua, to what recently happened to artists Butet Kartaredjasa and Agus Noor," he continued.

Usman said that in the agenda of freedom of expression, his party encourages the discussion of various laws that are considered problematic in the debate of presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

"We convey the need to raise various problematic laws in the context of protection of freedom of expression, including the new criminal Criminal Procedure Code, then the ITE Law (Information and Electronic Transactions), and also a number of rules that are still discriminatory towards minority groups," he said.

Meanwhile, the second agenda, said Usman, is not limited to actions by security forces in various regions, but also those that occur during the election period.

"These are not just cases that have occurred in various regions, such as the Kanjuruhan tragedy, or the Rempang, Rembang, Air Bangis, and Halmahera or Morowali tragedy," he said.

But also cases of violence by officers that occurred during the election, or when the election results were questioned by the public. We want to remind the public of the violence of the apparatus which includes torture in the 2019 General Election case," he continued.

Furthermore, Usman advised the Indonesian KPU to question the vision and mission of the three pairs of presidential and vice-presidential candidates regarding gross human rights violations in the debate.

"So we suggest that the KPU ensure that the agenda of the presidential and vice presidential candidates really discuss or question the vision and mission of presidential and vice presidential candidates related to the resolution of gross human rights violations, including prevention of cases of gross human rights violations in the future," he added.

The Indonesian KPU plans to finalize the technical discussion in the implementation of the 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres) debate on Wednesday, December 6.

Chairman of the Indonesian KPU Hasyim Asy'ari said that his party had communicated to the winning team of the three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates to attend the meeting.

He further said the meeting would discuss in more detail some technical matters regarding the implementation of the debate later.

"Bahas format debate, debate theme, panelist, and moderator," said Hasyim.

The KPU has determined the implementation of the first and second debates on December 12 and 22 to close the end of 2023, then continued on January 7 and 21, and finally on February 4, 2024.