Human rights tribunal fails to uphold justice<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A human rights watchdog on Tuesday denounced the government
\nfor poorly handling the ad hoc tribunal for human rights
\nviolations in East Timor, saying that the trials were a complete
\nfailure.<\/p>\n
The executive director of the Institute for Policy Research
\nand Advocacy (ELSAM), Ifdhal Kasim, said that the tribunal was
\ndefective from the outset, hence it came as no surprise that it
\nfailed to bring the perpetrators of crimes against humanity to
\njustice.<\/p>\n
He also proposed that the government amend Law No. 26\/2000 on
\nthe human rights court and provide the law with a separate
\ncriminal code procedure, to ensure that human rights violations
\nwould not take place in the future.<\/p>\n
\"The presidential decree on the establishment of the tribunal
\nstipulates that the court try only human rights violations that
\ntook place in Liquica, Dili and Suai from April to September
\n1999. This means that human rights violations in other areas were
\nuntouched,\" Ifdhal said.<\/p>\n
He also said that during the trial, the presiding judges and
\nprosecutors did not make any serious effort to ensure that
\njustice was upheld and meted out.<\/p>\n
\"The judges and prosecutors do not have enough understanding
\non the concept of human rights, as many of them came from
\nadministrative and civil law backgrounds,\" he explained during a
\ndiscussion evaluating the human rights tribunal.<\/p>\n
The tribunal has thus far handed down verdicts to 15
\ndefendants for human rights abuses committed after the people of
\nEast Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a UN-
\nsponsored ballot in 1999.<\/p>\n
Most of the 15 were either acquitted or remained free.<\/p>\n
\"The court's decision to let them free sets a bad precedent
\nfor the recurrence of future human rights violations,\" Ifdhal
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
Asmara Nababan, formerly a member of the now defunct
\nCommission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP-HAM) in
\nEast Timor, said that the lack of political will from the
\ngovernment had contributed to the poor performance of the human
\nrights tribunal.<\/p>\n
\"The fact that the convicts are not yet behind bars is a
\nstrong indication that the government has no intention to punish
\nthe human rights violators,\" he emphasized.<\/p>\n
Asmara feared that if the government did not take the human
\nrights tribunal seriously, the international community, as well
\nas the families of the East Timorese victims, could bring the
\ncases to the International Court of Justice at The Hague.<\/p>\n
Aware of the fact that most cases of violations in East Timor
\nwere committed by military personnel, the watchdog body urged the
\ngovernment to provide protection for all judges and prosecutors
\ninvolved in the trials, in addition to improving their knowledge
\nand capabilities in dealing with human rights issues.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/human-rights-tribunal-fails-to-uphold-justice-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}