Milosevic's handover a precedent for RI<\/p>\n
By Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Observers warned that the extradition of former
\nYugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic could set a precedent for
\nthe prosecution of Indonesians accused of human rights abuses, if
\nthe government here fails to bring legal proceedings against
\nthem.<\/p>\n
Noted human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis pointed out
\nFriday that while Jakarta had not ratified the statute of the
\nInternational Criminal Court, the international community could
\nstill endeavor to bring the perpetrators of rights abuses before
\nit.<\/p>\n
The government, therefore, said Todung, should accelerate the
\nestablishment of its own tribunal.<\/p>\n
\"We don't recognize the international court's jurisdiction nor
\nuniversal principles which allow the extradition of our nationals
\nwho allegedly abuse human rights. But it doesn't mean we're
\nbeyond foreign intervention in these cases,\" Todung, who is
\nexecutive director of the Center for Human Rights Studies
\n(Yapusham), told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"It depends on our own rights tribunal. If it is considered
\nthat it has failed to try rights cases, it's not beyond the
\nbounds of possibility that there would be pressure from the world
\ncommunity to convene an international court to try these cases,\"
\nhe added.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been in the spotlight in this regard,
\nparticularly concerning alleged rights abuses in relation to the
\nevents which transpired in East Timor in 1999.<\/p>\n
The government has pledged to establish a tribunal to try
\nthese cases. The Attorney General's Office has prepared
\nindictments against 18 suspects allegedly involved in human
\nrights crimes.<\/p>\n
Although the law on the human rights tribunal was passed late
\nlast year, the government has yet to establish one.<\/p>\n
The issue of the tribunal has attracted new attention
\nfollowing the news that Milosevic was handed over by his
\ngovernment on Thursday to face a war crimes tribunal in The
\nHague.<\/p>\n
He is charged with perpetrating crimes against humanity and is
\naccused of being responsible for mass killings and the expulsions
\nof ethnic groups during his term as president before being
\ntoppled last October.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the National Commission on Human Rights
\n(Komnas Ham) Asmara Nababan said, however, that while the
\npossibility of an international tribunal for Indonesians
\nallegedly responsible for rights crimes existed, it was still
\nvery distant.<\/p>\n
\"Our tribunal should go ahead first, then we'll talk about
\nsuch a possibility,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
But political observer Dewi Fortuna Anwar was doubtful that
\nIndonesia could withstand the momentum of an international
\ntribunal if one were to be convened.<\/p>\n
Dewi noted that Indonesia remained vulnerable to foreign
\npressure due to its economic dependence on the international
\ncommunity for aid.<\/p>\n
She argued that the principle of national sovereignty by
\nitself was no longer a powerful argument to deter such an
\ninternational court.<\/p>\n
\"For countries which have lots of bargaining chips, they would
\nnot be easily bluffed,\" she told the Post by telephone.<\/p>\n
Dewi pointed as an example to a U.S. bill which forbids
\nmilitary exchanges and the supply of weapons to the Indonesia
\nArmy if rights perpetrators were not brought to justice.<\/p>\n
\"Because Indonesia is still in the transition to democracy and
\nis considered strategic, the government may still get support
\nfrom developed countries, but not for the military.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, Indonesia has to prove its commitment because it
\ncould eventually hamper military professionalism which later
\ncould also affect the democratization process,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Even if we have good relations with the Bush administration,
\nit's difficult for them to revoke the bill, especially with the
\nweak position of the governing party as it is not the majority in
\nthe legislature,\" she argued.<\/p>\n
Warning of how serious the matter was, Dewi urged the
\ngovernment to realize the dangerous impact of ignoring such cases
\nfor the nation as a whole, and not to only protect a few from
\nlegal proceedings.<\/p>\n
\"Anyway, it's far better for us to punish the perpetrators
\nthan the international court,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/milosevics-handover-a-precedent-for-ri-1447893297",
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