To celebrate Human Rights Day on 10 December, and to mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mega spoke to Haris Azhar (Essex University, 2008) about his new NGO.
Q: You are known as one of Indonesia’s most prominent human rights activists. What motivates you to work in this field?
A: I was moved and motivated to work on human rights issue since I was in undergraduate–law school in Trisakti University. I was in the middle, witnessing the shooting to the thousand of student colleagues on May 12 in the front to my university. At that moment I experienced firsthand the human rights abuses I used to hear about during Soeharto’s New order regime. That moment committed to my dream to be a lawyer who could benefit a large number of other people. A week after I was graduated I joined KontraS working under Munir, the Coordinator at that time.
Q: What has been the greatest challenge you have faced in your career and how you overcome it?
A: There are several challenges working on human rights in the Indonesian setting. First, the negligence of the government to commit to human rights standards. Especially these days, where populism dominates political campaigns rather than addressing the real substance of rights. Human rights are being subordinated by the interest of the political community.
Secondly, the shrinking space for civil society is a concern. Civil society face increasing restrictions by the government and conservative groups, limiting the space for expression.
Thirdly, the challenge to expand the human rights movement. The growth of the human rights movement in Indonesia continues but there are some weaknesses; where knowledge of certain human rights is not well developed even among the human rights practitioners. Some of them have taken the side of the government or political interests blindly. There still remain too many gaps between academics, survivors, and advocates.