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Update from Indonesia by Robert Evans  March 8, 2004

Alice and I have just returned from almost three weeks in Indonesia where we personally observed the implementation of one of the action plans emerging from our joint project with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights: “Human Rights, Democracy, and Conflict Transformation: Addressing the Roots of Terrorism.” This program is the first step toward a much larger Ministry goal of establishing a Human Rights and Reconciliation Committee in each of Indonesia’s provinces.  The program focuses on the special needs of “internal” refugees or IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) who have fled from local violence in areas such as Aceh, the Mallukas and Papua.  Following the study trip to South Africa by a Ministry team last November, the Ministry added the category of Reconciliation to the traditional three steps for dealing with IDPs in camps: Return (to their homes); Reorientation (to new options); and/or Resettlement (in a new area).  

The Action Plan targets nine violence-torn areas.  We participated in the program in Northern Sumatra where some 20,000 IDPs have fled from the violence in Aceh, a separate province.  With virtually no chance these refugees can return to their homes in the foreseeable future, the focus was on Resettlement in the area and Reconciliation with the local communities. We spent one day listening to the concerns of representative IDP leaders; a second day with the same focus for local community leaders; and a third day with the provincial officials in charge of education, health, immigration, police, etc. The focus here was to outline the Constitutional and Ministry of Justice mandates for IDPs, for whom they are responsible. Alice’s and my role on these three days was to assist both the IDPs and community leaders with basic concepts of negotiation (how to most effectively negotiate for their needs) and to help all three groups better understand the mediation process in which they were involved.  It was clear that several aspects of the situation were volatile, with major gaps in coordination, communication and expectations. 

The fourth day was a mediation session between all three groups facilitated by the Ministry representative (author of the Action Plan equipped in a previous Plowshares seminar) and a facilitator from an international refugee organization.  The outcome was agreements on seven of the nine priorities for the IDPs. This offered participants a concrete example of how community mediation can constructively address the often significant human rights violations IDPs experience.  The Ministry has equipped a local monitoring team to follow up on the agreements.  This team will also help select the best candidates for the Provincial Human Rights and Reconciliation Committees. 

We fulfilled a number of additional commitments while in Indonesia. We spent a day consulting with the 14 pilot project Ministry participants about their action plans.  Their plans include: a project to promote women’s human rights and improve police response to instances of spouse abuse and rape; a project on children’s education rights; and a plan to ensure a free and fair process in Indonesia’s upcoming legislative and presidential elections in April and July 2004.  Aside from the critical topics and well-conceived plans, our excitement about these programs is based on the participants’ national leverage through the Ministry and their commitment to concrete results! 

We worked in other sessions with Ministry leaders preparing for the first full round of the joint three-year project.  The second team of participants will represent the government, police, military, and civic organizations from major conflict-areas such as Aech and Papua.  Alice and I will lead the delegation’s initial training in Indonesia in September 2004 and then accompany them to South Africa in December for extensive dialogue and strategy-planning sessions. 

In addition to work with the Ministry, we conducted two week-long workshops (training of trainers and case-writing and teaching) to further equip project participants and other Indonesian leaders with peace skills. Participants came from throughout Indonesia, including isolated island communities and strife-torn areas.  (Plowshares funding enabled many of the participants from these areas to attend.)  As participants share this training with their local communities, using many of the new cases which focus on issues they are facing, significant numbers of Indonesians will be equipped in skills of mediation and peace-building, protection of human rights, and promotion of democratic participation. 

It is exciting to see the direct implementation of the Ministry action plans, which are already reaping benefits for vulnerable constituencies in Indonesia. The program’s premise was affirmed: Plowshares’ joint-project with the Ministry has real potential for effectively addressing the roots of terrorism in Indonesia.