UI rector apologizes to the public over honorary doctorate award for Saudi king

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 09/02/2011

Universityof Indonesia rector Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri apologized to the public for anyinconveniences caused by the university’s honorary doctorate degree awarded toKing Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The university’s gesture sparked widespreadprotests across Indonesia.

“Weapologize if this was regarded as improper and offensive to many parties,”Gumilar said on Friday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Gumilaradmitted that he was aware that the timing of the award was not appropriate.

“I am fullyaware that the timing for the award was not right. We did it not long after thebeheading of Ruyati,” said Gumilar, referring to Indonesian maid Ruyati bintiSatubi, who was convicted two months ago of murdering her employer — a crimeshe allegedly committed in response to being subjected to repeated acts oftorture.

Several NGOssaid the Saudi king did not deserve such an award because the country “neverappreciated the principles of human rights, especially for migrant workers.”

Internationalhuman rights organizations have for years criticized Saudi Arabia for itstreatment of migrant workers. A 2011 Human Rights Watch report notes thatdomestic workers from Indonesia “frequently endure forced confinement, fooddeprivation and severe psychological, physical and sexual abuse”.

There arean estimated 1.5 million Indonesian maids currently in the kingdom, with 23 ondeath row.

Gumilar,however, did not say what actions his management would take next amid mountingpressure from many organizations affiliated with the university, includingprofessors, student associations and alumni who have demanded that the rectortender his resignation.

“Weunderstand the [protest as a] mere difference of opinion. And, in the realm ofdemocracy, as in the campus world, such difference is an asset and is simplynormal,” he said.

He saidthat the university management had studied the selection process for more thanthree years before deciding to award the degree to the King Abdullah.

“It [theaward] has taken long process. But we had not yet presented it due to theking’s health concerns,” he said.

Accordingto Gumilar, the date as well as the venue for the award presentation wasdecided upon by the king himself.

The awardceremony, which took place last week, drew public fury, partially because itwas conducted at the King’s Al-Safa Palace, which was not consistent with thetraditional practice of honorary degrees being presented by the awardinguniversity within their own country.

Related Article:

Saudi King Honor Row About Good Governance, Professor Says

Former Sex Slaves Call on Japan for Full Apology

Jakarta Globe, November 25, 2010

Portraits of former Indonesian sex slaves during Japan colonization called Jugun Ianfu (comfort women) exhibited at Erasmus Huis in Jakarta. Six former Korean wartime sex slaves and more than 200 supporters gathered Thursday in Tokyo to call on Japan for a full official apology and compensation in a petition to Prime Minister Naoto Kan. (JG Photo/Safir Makki)

Tokyo. Six former Korean wartime sex slaves and more than 200 supporters gathered on Thursday in Tokyo to call on Japan for a full official apology and compensation in a petition to Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, they submitted a petition of around 600,000 signatures collected in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and other regions.

“I really hope for no more wars, which would inevitably create victims like me,” said one of the former comfort women, 83-year-old Gil Won Ok from South Korea.

South Korean lawmaker Lee Mi-Kyung also visited with a petition signed by 177 South Korean parliamentarians.

The elderly Korean women and their supporters faced abuse from dozens of Japanese nationalists who staged their own protest outside the parliamentary office building where they had gathered.

Up to 200,000 women from Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries are estimated to have been kidnapped and forced to work as “comfort women” in military brothels used by Japanese troops during World War II.

Japan has apologized for the military’s involvement in crimes against the women, but denies responsibility for running a system of military brothels before its surrender to Allied forces in 1945.

The issue has long proved an irritant in relations between Japan and its neighbors.

The movement seeking an official apology and compensation from Japan has gained momentum following political change in the country, with the center-left Democratic Party ousting the conservatives last year, organizers said.

Agence France-Presse

Aging Filipino women who claim to be former wartime Japanese sex blow whistles in front of the Japanese Embassy in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday. The group demands from the Japanese government an apology and the redress of the crimes committed against Filipino women during World War II. (AP/Aaron Favila)

Related Article:

Indonesia's Comfort Women Break the Silence

Activists demand national heroine status for Marsinah

The Jakarta Post , Sun, 05/09/2010 10:35 AM

Never forget: Activists rally to commemorate slain labor activist Marsinah at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Saturday. They demanded the government to declare May 8 Women Workers’ Day. JP/Ricky Yudhistira

Activists demanded Saturday that Marsinah, a labor activist found dead in 1993 in East Java, be honored as a national heroine.

“Given the current socioeconomic climate, Marsinah’s sacrifice and achievements can inspire Indonesia’s oppressed people,” they said in a statement read out during a discussion.

The discussion also heard a statement that activists claim was issued by Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, in which the government apologized for Marsinah’s murder, with the minister expressing support for labor activists’ campaign to make her a national hero.

“On behalf of the government, I want to apologize for all that has happened, which eventually caused Marsinah’s [death]. I also apologize to her family, who has suffered all this time because of their loss,” the text read. The authenticity of the text could not be verified.

The discussion was held by the Indonesian People’s Opposition Forum (FOR Indonesia) at the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) to commemorate Women Workers’ Day. They are demanding that the government declares May 8 as Women Workers’ Day.

Marsinah was a worker at a watch factory in Sidoarjo, whose murdered body was found on May 8, 1993.

She had led a 500-strong labor action to press worker demands for allowances. All protest leaders were told to resign from the company by the local military command.

Marsina’s body, discovered in a hut inside a forest in Nganjuk, East Java, indicated she may have been raped and tortured before being killed. (JP/dis)

Related Article:

17 Years On, Apology For a Murder Fails to Heal