'Reconciliation does not shelve justice'<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM)
\nAbdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said on Tuesday that reconciliation
\nwould not stop the legal process against rights abusers or
\njustify impunity.<\/p>\n
Abdul Hakim said the state could not exempt rights abusers
\nfrom the law as the commission would just be responsible for
\nproviding compensation and rehabilitation for the victims.<\/p>\n
According to him, the concept of truth and reconciliation as
\nstipulated in the People's Consultative Assembly Decree No.
\nV\/2000 was aimed at publicizing the truth about whether gross
\nhuman rights violations had taken place.<\/p>\n
\"Indeed, the reconciliation process demands that the state
\nconduct a thorough investigation into possible rights abuses,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Investigations are necessary to identify the perpetrators of a
\nnumber of rights abuses, the number of victims and the state's
\nrole in the incident, he added.<\/p>\n
\"If abuses occurred due to an improper state policy, we can
\nlearn from it and review the policy. I'm sure that such a probe
\ncan also lead us to legal and administrative reforms,\" Abdul
\nHakim told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a seminar on
\nnational reconciliation here on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Experts and human rights activists have expressed doubt over
\nthe work of the proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission
\n(KKR) to resolve past human rights abuses, saying it would merely
\nreveal some facts, but would not bring about true justice, which
\nhas long been sought by the victims.<\/p>\n
Many have also said the new commission could be a way for
\nthose implicated in past right abuses to show remorse.<\/p>\n
Other critics warned that the commission would just serve as a
\nnew method to expunge all human right abuses, therefore providing
\nthe perpetrators with virtual impunity.<\/p>\n
The bill on KKR does not spell out a clause stipulating that
\nthose found guilty of violating human rights would automatically
\nbe brought to justice. The bill very specifically says that all
\ncases which are resolved by KKR will not go to court.<\/p>\n
The human rights court, endorsed by the government in 2000,
\nhas seen the trials of servicemen and civilians involved in
\natrocities in East Timor in 1999 and the Tanjung Priok bloodshed
\nin 1984.<\/p>\n
But Abdul Hakim insisted that the very definition of
\nreconciliation included a full legal process.<\/p>\n
\"Trials at the ad hoc rights tribunal are considered part of
\nwhat reconciliation means if the judges manage to deliver
\nverdicts that fulfill the sense of justice,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Abdul Hakim further suggested that the government set a ruling
\non amnesty if the perpetrators admitted their wrongdoings.<\/p>\n
\"But the president has an option to decline an appeal for
\nclemency by perpetrators who have come forward under an amnesty
\nprogram,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI) Syamsuddin Harris urged the government to
\nimmediately draft a law on witness protection, saying it would
\nencourage people to testify about many human rights abuses which
\nmight be hidden under the carpet due to fear.<\/p>\n
He expressed pessimism that such reconciliation could
\nstrengthen law enforcement in the country.<\/p>\n
\"Instead of sentencing perpetrators for their crimes, judges
\nin the country always send the whistle blowers to jail,\"
\nSyamsuddin said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/reconciliation-does-not-shelve-justice-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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