2008 - 60 Years of Human Rights and Petition to President- elect Barack Obama

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“...recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world "
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have
recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law" - Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

2008 - 60 Years of Human Rights

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a non-binding declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, partly in response to the atrocities of World War II. Although the UDHR is a non-binding resolution, it is now considered to be a central component of international customary law which may be invoked under appropriate circumstances by national and other judiciaries. The UDHR urges member nations to promote a number of human, civil, economic and social rights, asserting these rights are part of the "foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." The declaration was the first international legal effort to limit the behavior of states and press upon them duties to their citizens following the model of the rights-duty duality.

In May 2006 the Indonesian government ratified the two key human rights instruments, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) however, until now there are no signs of implementation of these two covenants into their domestic legislation. Also in 1998 Indonesia had ratified the UN Anti-Torture Convention, which protects the non-derogable rights of people.

Noam Chomsky - "Despite democratic reform progress after the ouster of the dictator Suharto in 1998, the military still retains much power. Military reform has stalled, and perpetrators of past crimes have evaded justice for human rights violations."

ALLAN NAIRN ABOUT THE INDONESIAN ARMED FORCES

ALLAN NAIRN: In more recent years, they've done similar mass slaughter operations in Aceh, now more recently in Papua. They've done provocation operations in the Moluccas, where they set Christian and Muslim peasants against each other, in which thousands have died. BRIMOB itself, which is just one of many very menacing security forces, was notorious for using checkpoints in Aceh to take women and rape, and they're now doing political rapes in Papua. They're the larger threat.

I think you can use President Bush's standard: he says if you aid a terrorist, you are a terrorist. The US has aided the TNI, Polri, the Indonesian armed forces and police, as they've carried out massive terrorist killings, so therefore the US officials who have done that, as well as the Australian officials, the European officials, they have to be held accountable, as well. If we enforce the murder laws, if we had a civilized world order, these people would be facing trials for crimes against humanity, Indonesians and Americans and other Westerners, as well.

Petition to President-elect Barack Obama.



INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: 
The Indonesian government should give urgent priority to identifying and prosecuting the snipers responsible for dozens of deaths on 25th April 2004 in Ambon / Moluccas Read More

... aid to the Idonesian military should be tied to real reform, adherence to the rule of law and accountability for past crimes.
United States Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin
United States Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont Continue.

Sign the petition! Urge Obama not to appoint former Adm. Dennis Blair because of East Timor, Aceh, West Papua and Moluccas
Sign the petition now. - http://www.petitiononline.com/blair01/petition.html
Urge President-elect Obama not to appoint former Adm. Dennis Blair as Director of National Intelligence. As Commander in the Pacific, he cozied up to the Indonesian military and downplayed human rights concerns in the lead up and aftermath of East Timor's independence referendum. According to news reports, Obama will appoint his intelligence chief this week.

For background go here - http://etan.org/news/2008/12blair.htm.

In addition to signing the petition, you can also cut, paste and modify the text below and post it to President-elect Obama's transition website. Just go here: http://change.gov/page/s/seattable and send a comment.

John M. Miller       john@etan.org
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)