What does a man have to do to become the chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in a country rampant with unresolved cases of gross human rights violations? Well, in Otto Nur Abdullah’s case, a man must escape death, not only once but twice, before he can assume the top position of the human rights body.
Otto was elected chairman of Komnas HAM last November. Before that, he
was a human rights activist with years of experience at top human rights
watchdogs, including the Indonesian human rights monitoring body,
Imparsial, and Aceh-based Cordova, where he was a director for 10 years.
He
began defending human rights in Aceh, his homeland. From the
westernmost province in Indonesia, he expanded his noble mission to the
easternmost region of this country, Papua. Born in Yogyakarta in 1959,
he grew up as an Acehnese just like his late father. Otto is also a
known human rights expert in Papua.
His involvement in many
conflict-ridden areas in Aceh and other places has put his life in
danger many times. But, he seems to be a man with many lives. He first
escaped death in late 2000 when he was forced to leave Aceh after
receiving tips from his activist friends in Jakarta that his life was
under threat.
“They said I have raised the cats to become
tigers,” said Otto, repeating his friends’ words, who among them include
the late human rights defender Munir and Ayi Bunyamin.
At that
time, he was involved with an independent monitoring team ahead of the
second anniversary of the Aceh referendum. Following his friends’
suggestion, he flew straight to Jakarta from where he headed to New York
to hide for one year.
In New York, he faced another near-death
experience as he stood less than three blocks away from the World Trade
Center (WTC) on Sept. 11, 2001.
But close encounters with death
have not frightened the man. After returning to Indonesia, Otto remained
actively involved in human rights work until he was appointed the new
chairman for Komnas HAM.
With years of experience in the field, it should be no problem for Otto to get the ball rolling.
But it is not as easy as many might think, as the man says he is still adjusting to the system.
Meeting
him in person at his spacious office in the high-class Menteng area,
The Jakarta Post found the man little bit awkward at his new place of
work. During the interview, the thin, mustached man preferred to sit on a
blue chair in the middle of the room instead of at his desk.
“I
never like sitting there. It is just like a cave,” he said, pointing at
his desk with a giant grey chair located at a corner of the room.
Otto
admitted that his new position has forced him to let go some of his
pastimes and habits. For instance, he says he cannot walk alone without
being guarded by bodyguards or wear ripped jeans and a T-shirt, one of
his favorite outfits.
“My wife told me to not wear worn-out
jeans anymore. She said that such an outfit is not appropriate for
considering my position,” Otto quoted his wife.
Despite the
changes, a few things are expected to remain the same, including his
style in handling human rights violation cases.
His colleagues
have praised him for his down-to-earth attitude in dealing with human
rights cases. When he was in Aceh, he spent most of his time mingling
with Acehnese in conflict areas, rather than in his office.
“Being
there for five minutes with the people means a lot because at least it
will delay aggressive attacks either by the authority or the rebels,”
Otto said, planning to do the same thing with in his current position.
Before becoming a human rights defender, Otto was a lecturer who dedicated his life to education.
Graduating
from the school of geography at the Gadjah Mada University, Otto was a
lecturer at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh. He said he majored in
geography to please his father, who was a respected scholar in Aceh.
Otto himself wanted to study politics, which he finally did for his master’s and PhD.
The
man, who is also known under his pseudonym, Otto Syamsuddin Ishak, has
written a number of books on Aceh and has been involved with human
rights abuses research in Indonesia.
From talking and writing
about it, now with his current position, Otto has the authority to
resolve unfinished human rights cases in this country.
His first
move, he said, was to get the website running again, to ensure that all
information on the activities of Komnas HAM would be available to the
public. Otto also plans to optimize work at his office by initiating
small reforms at the commission that will introduce a better and more
efficient system.
In terms of policies, Otto hopes that the
ongoing deliberations on the revision of the existing Human Rights Law
and Court Law will allow the commission to have more power in the
investigation of human rights cases.
Under the current law,
Komnas HAM only has the authority to investigate and recommend the case
to the police or an attorney, but that system left many human rights
cases hanging in the air.
“We need more power,” he said.
When he began his post, the man told the media that the 1965 human rights abuses and Lapindo case were his priorities
But
during the interview, he revealed that his list had more than just two
priorities on it. Human rights abuse cases in Wasior, Papua; in Tanjung
Priok, Jakarta; and the Talang Sari, Lampung; and Trisakti shooting are
among the cases he wishes to resolve before his term ends.
“I owe
this to the activists who saved my life back then,” he said, referring
to his colleagues who saved his life. Many of his colleagues have passed
away while defending human rights, including Munir.