ABOUT US
This website is an initiative of Amnesty International Netherlands. It makes accessible a number of original Amnesty International documents on human rights violations in Indonesia from the period 1967-to date. These documents were used for Amnesty’s activities in support of the unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, or against unfair trials, death penalty, forced labour and other human rights violations.
Breaking the cycle of impunity
In Indonesia breaking the silence about the truth of what happened after 1965 still is quite a taboo. The suffering and loss of rights of the victims – hundreds of thousands of people – have never been acknowledged. Those responsible have never had to account for their deeds.
There are four principles needed to break this cycle of impunity:
- the right to the truth,
- the right to justice,
- the right to rehabilitation and
- the guarantee of non-recurrence.
With this website we start with a contribution to the first step: to realize the right to the truth. We hope that in the future and in good cooperation also the other steps can be realized. However, these bring about some essential questions that warrant in-depth debates within Indonesia itself, such as: what is justice?; what is rehabilitation? Let alone the policy measures that are necessary to prevent those human rights violations from happening again.
Privacy considerations
Some of the documents now available on your screen have been drafted and publicized more than 40 years ago, when the information technology was limited to the stencil machine and when the people mentioned were still detained in remote places like Buru or Kemarau, where there was hardly a telephone. Privacy considerations were different then, to put it mildly. Still, the survivors’ privacy and that of their relatives, children and grandchildren should be taken into account as much as possible.
We would like to request you, as readers, if you hear about any objections from those mentioned in this website against their being mentioned, to let us know those objections sothat we can adapt these instances.
Work in progress
This website is work in progress: Amnesty International invites you to send us (P.O.Box 1968, 1000BZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands or by mail: y.lawson@amnesty.nl) additional Amnesty International documents if you have these in your possession. We consider searching for the truth as a common effort. If you can help us with missing documents, please do! Critical feedback is also welcome at y.lawson@amnesty.nl.
Amnesty International in general
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who take injustice personally. We are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.
We are funded by members and people like you. We are independent of any political ideology, economic interest or religion. No government is beyond scrutiny. No situation is beyond hope.
Few would have predicted when we started in 1961 that torturers would become international outlaws. That most countries would abolish the death penalty. And seemingly untouchable dictators would be made to answer for their crimes.
More information is available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/.