Komnas HAM sluggish in responding to major cases<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Efforts to break the circle of impunity in the country hit a
\nsnag on Thursday as the National Commission on Human Rights
\n(Komnas HAM) further delayed the announcement of its response to
\nan inquiry of three high profile violent incidents in Jakarta a
\nfew years ago.<\/p>\n
During a plenary meeting presided over by chairman Djoko
\nSoegianto, the commission decided to postpone the hearing until
\nApril 22 to assess the results of the inquiry.<\/p>\n
\"We need extra time to determine whether the report is
\nsubstantial enough to prove that gross human rights violations
\ntook place in the 1998 and 1999 incidents,\" Komnas HAM secretary-
\ngeneral Asmara Nababan said.<\/p>\n
The commission also decided to set up an internal team to
\nfollow up the inquiry should the upcoming meeting find that the
\ninquiry's report is inconclusive or incomplete.<\/p>\n
Asmara said the team would be mandated to exercise Komnas
\nHAM's subpoena rights to resummon a number of military and police
\nofficers, including former Indonesia Military chief Gen. (ret)
\nWiranto, who has rejected the existence of the inquiry saying
\nthat both Komnas HAM and its inquiry team are unlawful.<\/p>\n
The military and police institutions have affirmed that they
\nwill file an objection with the court should the commission
\nenforce the subpoena, which obviously will delay the
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
Asmara said the commission members expected that the inquiry
\nwould succeed in providing evidence that the killing of dozens of
\npeople, including protesting students, could be categorized as a
\ncrime against humanity.<\/p>\n
\"We have to make sure that the report's conclusion clearly
\nshows that there were systematic and widespread policies taken by
\nthe government to harm the people and that there were attacks
\nagainst the masses before bringing the case to the state
\ninvestigators,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
The absence of inquiry team leader Albert Hasibuan, who is
\noverseas, was another underlying cause of the delay, said Asmara.<\/p>\n
The assessment of the report was initially scheduled to take
\nplace on Tuesday but was then aborted because Djoko was sick,
\nalthough the regular meeting could still proceed since the floor
\nhad reached the quorum.<\/p>\n
Amid the controversy raised by the military and police
\ninstitutions over the tenure of the members of Komnas HAM which
\nshould have expired last September according to a 1999 law on the
\nrights commission, the inquiry completed its report last month.
\nIt recommends that the Attorney General's Office name 50 security
\nofficers as suspects on charges of crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n
The inquiry team found that \"the killings took place with the
\nfull involvement of the security officers who used their power,
\nas well as their weapons, in an excessive way for the sake of
\ncertain political interests\".<\/p>\n
Many human rights activists said they believed the delay would
\nonly pave the way for bargaining between related parties to stop
\nthe legal process of the alleged human rights abuses.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/komnas-ham-sluggish-in-responding-to-major-cases-1447893297",
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