call from Thai embassy and the latest from the Human Rights Defenders Programme on George's deportation

[marissa d. de guzman]

15 November 2006

3:45pm

 

Hi all--

 

I just received a call from a certain 'Nattanipa' who introduced herself as an employee of the Thai Embassy here in Manila. She was asking me questions about our regional RTD event in Pattaya, specifically if George was the only one from our group who was detained and deported by the Thai government. She said she read the Jakarta Post article and she wanted to know more about the incident in Bangkok. I was not giving her a lot of information so after a while she asked for my name. I was surprised and asked her how she got our office number, organization name, and not know who it is she wanted to talk to. She said she was only instructed by Thai officials from the Bangkok office to call Seaca and get more information but she wouldn't tell me where exactly they got our contact details. Anyway, I brought up the issue of George's missing bag and she sounded surprised. I told her that maybe someone from her office or from the main office in Bangkok would like to inform George whether or not his bag will be returned to him. I offered to give George's contact number so they could coordinate directly but she refused at first to get his contact information. She insisted on getting my name though. I gave her George's number anyway and told her Dr. Aditjondro would appreciate hearing from their office soon.

 

So anyway, that's the latest... Pasted below is the email from Heidi of the Human Rights Defenders Programme of Forum-Asia.

 

All the best,

Marissa

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Heidi Han

To: 'marissa d. de guzman'

Cc: 'George Aditjondro'

Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 3:29 PM

Subject: RE: George Aditjondro's contact information

Thank you so much.

 

We at the HRDs Programme here at FORUM-ASIA believe that the most basic thing to do when a Human Rights Defender is threatened or fins himself or herself limited to carry out their work, we must send the threats/violations to the SRSG on HRDs (Special Representative on HRDs), Ms. Hina Jilani. Although whether or not she will respond is not in our hands, this will at least allow the case to be documented in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

 

Ms. Marissa, Mr. Aditjondro,

 

For now, I enclose a draft version of the complaint (based on the model complaint form itself in the OHCHR and the Special Procedures of the United Nations) based on the information I have received. The more information, the more details the complaint form encapsulates, the more weight it carries. As this is the least we can do for now, I hope to receive your cooperation.

 

Sincerely,

 

Heidi Han

Human Rights Defenders Programme

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FORUM-ASIA Secretariat

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Asian Solidarity and Human Rights for All

 

 

Human Rights Defenders

 

Case Fact Sheet

 

Human Rights Defenders

 

Case Fact Sheet

 

Name of Defender / Organization: Mr. George Junus Aditjondro

 

Country: Thailand             

 

Incident / violation: Briefly detained in Bangkok and deported back to Jakarta

 

Date of Fact Sheet: October 15, 2006

 

Essential information	Useful information
1. Name of alleged victim/s   Mr. George Junus Aditjondro	Contact Information:   Independent Researcher on Political Space for Advocacy (Democratic Space) in Indonesia and Timor Leste Email: pesutk...@yahoo.com Hp: + 62 852 412 18490
2. Status of the victim as a human rights defender   Indonesian scholar George Junus Aditjondro, is an open advocate for academic freedom and a researcher investigating the corruption of former president Soeharto's administration for the general public.
3. Alleged violation/s committed against the victim(s)   On the 11th of October, George Junus Aditjondro was banned from entering the new airport at Bangkok, Svarnabhumi, when planning to attend a workshop for all ASEAN socio-politics observers on political space for democracy at Pattaya. The meeting was organized by the Manila-based South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA).	Mr. Aditjondro said he was held for one night in the Impermissible Persons Detention Center before being deported. The deportation shocked the pro-democracy scientist, who said he had never been banned by any country while researching Soeharto's ill-gotten wealth overseas. According to Mr. Aditjondro, he was asked to look at the blacklisting letter on a computer which was dated March 9, 1998, issued during the Soeharto era. He also stated that the Thai authorities ignored his explanation that he had no knowledge of the Indonesian government's list.
4. Perpetrators   Government of Thailand   .
5. Action by authorities   None
6. Link between the violation and human rights work Mr. Aditjondro was opposed by the Soeharto regime because he had exposed the former president's family's wealth to the general public. Mr. Aditjondro has suspected that the blacklisting occurred because the authoritative military regime in Thailand following the coup d'etat disliked pro-democratic figures. According to him, the treatment could also be seen as a symptom of growth of solidarity and cooperation of the military faction that is currently empowering the Thai government. The reason for this was that, he said, the blacklisting petition was issued by the pro-military regime (Soeharto).	Previous incidents     Mr. Aditjondro lived in exile in Australia for seven years to escape the Soeharto dictatorship, which wanted him arrested for his opposition academic and political activities. He returned to Jakarta in 2002.   He had once been detained for one day in a room with no access to communication or sunlight.
7. Who is submitting this information?   Ruki Fernando ru...@forum-asia.org / +66-4-0991538 Human Rights Defenders Program FORUM-ASIA   Heidi Han / he...@forum-asia.org
8. Updates/Press Releases   Print November 14, 2006       Thailand sends RI scholar home Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Noted Indonesian scholar George Junus Aditjondro, who was staunchly critical of former president Soeharto's administration, said Sunday he was briefly detained in Bangkok and deported back to Jakarta. He said Thai immigration authorities told him he was still on a blacklist issued by Soeharto in 1998. "You are on the blacklist, so you may never enter Thailand," George told a press conference in Jakarta, quoting a Thai official he encountered in Bangkok. George said he was held for one night in the Impermissible Persons Detention Center before being deported. He initially planned to attend a meeting of researchers in Pattaya, west of Bangkok, to discuss democracy in 10 ASEAN countries. The meeting was organized by the Manila-based South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA). The deportation shocked the pro-democracy scientist, who said he had never been banned by any country while researching Soeharto's ill-gotten wealth overseas. "They asked me to look at the blacklisting letter on a computer. It was dated March 9, 1998. It was issued during the Soeharto era," George said. He said the Thai authorities ignored his explanation that he had no knowledge of the Indonesian government's list. Thai Embassy officials in Jakarta could not be reached for immediate comment Sunday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said George was not banned from leaving Indonesia, since he had been allowed to travel to other countries. "This is a bit strange. I need to clarify this first with Thailand," he told The Jakarta Post. "The ban by the Thai government has nothing to do with Indonesia. They have their own reasons to ban people from entering their country," Immigration Office spokesman Cecep Soepriyatna said. The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), which hosted the press conference with George, criticized the deportation, saying the political reasons behind it were unjustifiable. "We also regret that the Indonesian authorities in Thailand appeared to be unwilling to clarify the case," said Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid. He said the Kontras would send a letter to the Foreign Ministry and the Immigration Office to rectify the matter. "This should not have happened. The blacklist of all political prisoners should have been lifted," Usman said. George said the repression against him indicated a setback for democracy in Southeast Asia. "How can the democratic rights of ASEAN citizens be enhanced if cross-boundary repression of pro-democracy activists is not stopped?" he asked. He said Thailand is maintaining limits on democracy following a bloodless coup to oust prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. "The Thais are still debating when to lift martial law in their country. Under martial law, there is no freedom to form a union or a party," he said, George lived in exile in Australia for seven years to escape the Soeharto dictatorship, which wanted him arrested for his opposition academic and political activities. He returned to Jakarta in 2002.   Press Release: THAI STYLE REPRESSION OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM People’s Empowerment Consortium (PEC), KontraS, Imparsial, INFID                 ON Saturday, November 11, 2006, Thailand moved towards further repression of pro-democracy activists. Not only repression of Thai activists, but also of pro-democracy activists from other ASEAN countries. On 8: 15, Dr. George Junus Aditjondro, an Indonesian academic known for his extensive worldwide studies of Soeharto’s corruption, was put on a Thai Airlines plane to Jakarta, after spending one night at the Immigration Detention Centre at the Suwarnabhumi airport. The reason given for the deportation of Dr Aditjondro, who arrived the day before on Thai Airlines flight TG 434 on 4: 40 pm local time, was that his name is still on a black list from Jakarta, dated March 1998. Aditjondro’s argument that that black list was issued by former president Soeharto, who has since been replaced by four consecutive presidents, was simply in vain. “You are on the black list, so you may never enter Thailand,” was what one Thai Immigration staff told him brassily. Hence, while waiting for the return plane to Jakarta, Aditjondro was dumped in the “Impermissible Persons Detention Center”, where he spent the night before being taken to the airplane the next morning.               In Aditjondro’s experience, who had returned to Indonesia in October 2002 from seven years lecturing in Australia, Thailand is the only country in the world, where he has been deported, based on a Soeharto era black list. This raises the question: has Thailand, under the influence of US President George W. Bush Jr, re-activated lists of persons who have to be watched and who should be refused entry into countries friendly to George Bush? The reason for raising this question is that no post-Soeharto governments have refused entry to George Aditjondro, an Indonesian citizen, who has repeatedly attended seminars in Indonesia, before returning to Indonesia in October 2002. Likewise, no other ASEAN country has refused entry to Aditjondro during his 1999 survey to investigate the ill-gotten wealth of Soeharto and his family and cronies. Other countries in the world, including Australia, where Dr Aditjondro spent nearly eight years teaching and researching, as well as East Timor, has not refused entry to Aditjondro during recent visits in 2004 and 2006.               So, why did Thailand took this unfriendly diplomatic step of deporting Dr Aditjondro from the Kingdom? Has it something to do with the reduction of basic freedoms of expression since the military took over power? Has it to do with Dr Aditjondro’s ongoing research in documenting Soeharto’s ill-gotten wealth all over the world?                Dr Aditjondro’s planned visit to Thailand was to attend a regional meeting of researchers from the ASEAN region in Pattaya, west of Bangkok, to exchange their findings on the development of political space for advocacy, or, democratic space in short, in ten ASEAN countries, from Cambodia to East Timor. This research is coordinated by South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA), a Manila-based regional NGO. Dr Aditjondro’s own share in this study is the development of democratic space in Indonesia and East Timor. In preparation for this regional discussion, Dr Aditjondro recently visited East Timor, to investigate the background and implications of the current ‘East-West’ political polarization in the country, especially in the capital, Dili.               The unplanned night spent in “the belly of the beast,” namely the Immigration Detention Center in the Suwarnabhumi Airport, showed the irony of this brand new airport. In contrast to Thailand’s capacity to manage such a complicated traffic system, the Immigration Department’s management of the detention center is very primitive and violating universal human rights, including several Geneva Convention principles. First of all, prior to being dumped into the detention center, Immigration officers were very reluctant to honor Dr Aditjondro’s right to communicate with the workshop organizers, let alone the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok. Second, after talking with several detainees in the detention center, including an Indonesian sailor, Mr. Kuwat (36), who has been in the center for five days without being visited by any Indonesian Embassy staff, Dr Aditjondro discovered that all the detainees have not allowed access to sun rays for days, one of them for up to 80 days. Third, non-Thai citizens of three completely different categories were lumped together in the detention center. Passengers transiting while waiting for their next flights, were also dumped into the detention center. Dr Aditjondro, who had not violated any passport or flight irregularities, and had not any prior knowledge about Thailand’s adherence to a 1998 Soeharto era black list, was also dumped into the ‘rat hole’, together with dozens of violators of passport regulations. Fourth, the detainees were only fed twice a day, namely very simple breakfast between 8 and 9 AM, and a combined lunch and dinner at around 6 PM. Dumped into the detention center, Dr Aditjondro was not provided with dinner until he asked for it at 8 PM, although the last time he had had a meal was on the plane from Jakarta. Fifth, Immigration staff at the detention center have been extorting the detainees who asked their help to buy phone cards, food, or exchanging their money for Thai money. In Dr Aditjondro’s case, who asked their help to change US$ 100 and obtained 3,592 Baht for it, was immediately ripped off 592 Baht, without any Immigration staff blinking. A nearly 17% rip-off! Sixth, one detainee, Mr. Sallah Yasin bin Haji Khoja (36), has been kept in the detention center for 80 days and exploited as an unpaid translator by the Immigration staff whose foreign language compatibility is very low. This young man has also been forsaken by Ms. Francesca Bombi from the UNHCR office in Bangkok, who had promised to help this Saudi Arabia-born husband of a Thai woman and father of a mixed blood baby to a third country, while the detention authorities have also denied Mr. Sallah Yasin’s right to see his baby and wife regularly. Seventh, while spending time at the detention center, detainees had no access to their luggage, which was kept by their respective airlines, which in Dr Aditjondro’s case, by Thai Airlines. Repeated insistence by Dr.Aditjondro that his medicine bag was in his backpack, and that therefore he asked that his backpack been brought to him. However, the Immigration officials denied his request, causing agony for the academic, who had to take his medicine regularly for several ailments, causing them to lose several bags or suitcases while in detention or after being deported. Eighth, on several occasions, the airlines, and in particular, Thai Airlines, were very sloppy in transferring the luggage with the persons deported from Thailand. This has been the case of Dr Aditjondro, who did not receive one of his bags when he landed in Jakarta. As it turned out, his small bag which contain SEACA discussion material for the Pattaya workshop was not put on the plane together with him when Dr Aditjondro was deported back to Jakarta. This raised the suspicion that the contains of his bag has or still is being searched by Thai security personnel, violating Dr Aditjondro’s right as a respected scholar.               In conclusion one can say that apart from honoring an anachronistic Soeharto era black list, this recent case has shown how far Thai authorities were ready to go to repress academic freedom and curtail democratic space of a fellow ASEAN academic and pro-democracy activist.                Based on this experience, the following questions can be raised:   (1). On what base is the current Thailand administration, honoring a 1998 black list issued by an Indonesian administration, namely the Soeharto regime, which has already been disposed and have been replaced by four Presidents in a row?   (2). Or, could this case be seen as a re-activation of watch lists of pro-democracy activists, as has been encouraged by President George W. Bush, Jr, to nations friendly to Bush’s anti-democratic, pure security, anti-terrorist policy?   (3). Independent of its global ramifications, could this case be seen as a growing solidarity and cooperation between military factions in the region, considering that the military’s power in Thailand is on the rise, while the black list involving Dr Aditjondro was issued by the pro-military regime of Soeharto?   (4). Finally, how can the democratic rights of ASEAN citizens be enhanced, if cross boundary repression of pro-democracy activists, such as experienced by Dr. Aditjondro, are not discontinued?     Jakarta, 12 November 2006   In Solidarity, People’s Empowerment Consortium (PEC), KontraS, Imparsial, INFID   For further information, contact Dr. George Junus Aditjondro, Independent Researcher on Political Space for Advocacy (Democratic Space) in Indonesia and Timor Leste Email: pesutk...@yahoo.com Hp: + 62 852 412 18490

 

 

[George Aditjondro]

Dear Marissa, can you cc this letter of mine to our
partner NGOs and NGIs (non government individuals), as
you have done before? Terima kasih, salam, George

Dear colleagues;

Since my deportation from Bangkok to Jakarta, I have
been wondering whether this action taken by the Thai
government, has anything to do with my ongoing
research, which is known to many people in the region.
Namely, my research on the global spread of the
illgotten wealth of the former Indonesian dictator,
Soeharto, and his family and cronies.

Among the ASEAN countries, I have visited Singapore,
Malaysia and the Philippines to do research at the
company registries and land title registries of these
three countries, and found many companies in which the
Soehartos and their cronies have shares, as well as
properties.

I have, however, not visited Thailand during my world
wide trip in the second semester of 1999, although I
have visited the Kingdom on previous occasions, in my
capacity as a rural development worker,
environmentalist, and university professor (in 1994, I
was invited to a seminar at Chulalongkorn, replacing
my colleague, Dr Arief Budiman from the Satya Wacana
Christian University in Salatiga, Central Java).

After coming back to my current home town in
Yogyakarta, I have browsed through my personal
library, and found several links in Thailand with the
illgotten wealth of Soeharto & Co. First of all, Liem
Sioe Liong, Soeharto's richest crony and former leader
of Indonesia's largest private conglomerate, the Salim
Group is a customer of Bangkok Bank, the bigggest and
most profitable private bank in Southeast Asia, owned
by the Sino-Thai Sophonpanich clan, whose founder,
Chin Sophonpanich, was sometimes referred to as banker
to the Asian drug trade, and was close to the Thai
military power brokers (Hiscock 1997: 23, 26, 210-1).

The shady origins of Bangkok Bank's capital parallels
the origin of the wealth of its biggest clients, such
as Liem Sioe Liong. In fact, in the late 1970s, Liem
Sioe Liong deposited a US$ 8 million commission which
he had received from Bruce Rappaport, then Vice
President of Inter Maritime Bank of Geneva, for
negotiating to scrap a US$ 150 million credit from the
Indonesian state oil company, Pertamina, to Rappaport.
The deal with Rappaport itself was just one part of
the US@ 10,5 billion scandal involving the Geneva
banker and tanker trader and Pertamina's boss, the
late General Ibnu Sutowo (Aditjondro 2006: 230-1).

That is only one connection, since Liem Sioe Liong's
First Pacific Group also has its Thai group of
companies, a.o. the Berli Jucker group, which has
privatized Thai Glass. The Indonesian tire cord
company, PT Branta Mulia, has its Thai subsidiary, and
many others. And, if I am not mistaken, the Salim
Group's cement factory may also have their Thai
partners and so has the Salim Group's instant noodles
factory, PT Indofood.

So, could it be that these Thai partners of the
Soeharto/Liem Sioe Liong business groups have demanded
that the military regime in Thailand reinstated a 1998
ban for me to enter the Kingdom?

If that is the case, then, ironically, I feel very
honoured, since I have lately not been so much active
in my research of the Soeharto billions, being more
deeply involved in investigating the background of
so-called 'sectarian' conflicts in Indonesia. It may
also be seen as a wake-up call for me, not to exclude
Thailand in this research of the Soeharto billions.

Please send me your response to this letter of mine.

Cheers,

George

Reference:

Aditjondro, George Junus (2006). Korupsi Kepresidenan:
Reproduksi Oligarki Berkaki Tiga: Istana, Tangsi, dan
Partai Penguasa. Yogyakarta: LKiS.

Hiscock, Geoff (1997). Asia's Wealth Club: Who's
really who in business - the top 100 billionaires in
Asia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

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