Challenges to Human Rights and Local Democracy in Yogyakarta-Indonesia
Abstract: During the
authoritarian Soeharto era in Indonesia, there were many human rights abuses of
many types perpetrated by the state with little attention from a weak civil
society. However, since Reformasi, not only were there many laws that had been
changed to prevent such abuses, the roles of civil society in protecting the
rights of the people have also increased dramatically. These changes can be
seen as direct consequences of decentralization and the autonomous region
policies. Yogyakarta, a special autonomous region in central Java, has seen and
benefitted from the changes that happened during decentralization in Reformasi
era. This paper will look at how these national policy changes have come about
and their implications for human rights, selecting the Province of Yogyakarta
as a case study. It will look at the decentralization process and the
development of local democracy and its impact on the lives of the people of
Yogyakarta. This paper hopes to show that the preservation and protection of
human rights for the community have gained a more significant attention and
prominence in Yogyakarta under the new policies of decentralization and
autonomous region. The paper also hopes to look at the major challenges in
formulating and implementing these policies and what lessons can be learnt from
this experience.
Author: Suyatno
Journal Code: jphubintgg120010
