Rights body spurns human rights bill<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A rights group rejected on Wednesday a
\ngovernment-sponsored bill on human rights, saying that it should
\nbe included in the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI)
\nsaid human rights was a \"basic norm\" which should be asserted as
\na \"constitutional right\".<\/p>\n
\"According to the hierarchy of norms, a law should be based on
\nthe basic norm... so if human rights is only placed in a law,
\nthe protection of human rights could be ignored by other laws,\"
\nPBHI's executive director Hendardi told members of the Golkar
\nfaction at the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Legislators are still deliberating the bill on human rights
\nand the National Commission on Human Rights, which was submitted
\nto the House in April by Justice Minister Muladi, a former rights
\nbody member.<\/p>\n
Hendardi said the bill would only be able to prosecute
\nperpetrators of human rights abuses which occurred no more than
\nfive years after they were reported.<\/p>\n
\"This clearly violates the Criminal Code, which stipulates
\nthat a case only expires after 20 years,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Article 118 of the bill stipulates that investigations into
\nalleged human rights abuses should not be carried out, or should
\nbe stopped, if they are reported five years after the incident.<\/p>\n
Since Soeharto stepped down in May last year, there have been
\nwidespread calls for prosecution of the military over several
\ncases of alleged human rights abuses.<\/p>\n
The shooting of Muslim protesters in Tanjung Priok, North
\nJakarta, in 1984, and the alleged widespread human rights abuses
\nduring a decade of anti-rebel operations in Aceh, only halted
\nlast year, are some of the incidents aired by the public.<\/p>\n
Hendardi said there should be more public debate during
\ndeliberation of the bill before it was passed and ratified by the
\nPresident.<\/p>\n
\"The House will not be able to answer this precondition,
\nbecause the members are running out of time,\" he said, referring
\nto the inauguration of new legislators in August.<\/p>\n
\"Another problem is that the bill will not be accepted, or
\nwill face very low public acceptance, as the House members'
\nlegitimacy is in question.\"<\/p>\n
People have said the current legislators were elected in
\nrigged elections under Soeharto's rule. They have also been
\nwidely criticized as \"remnants of the New Order\".<\/p>\n
The government has said the bill was aimed at empowering the
\nrights body.<\/p>\n
In April, Muladi said the rights commission would have the
\nauthority to resolve rights violations disputes, with its
\nverdicts being legally binding, appealed only to the Supreme
\nCourt.<\/p>\n
Soeharto established the rights commission in 1993 through a
\npresidential decree, amid mounting international criticism over
\nthe country's poor human rights record.<\/p>\n
Despite the weakness of its legal authority, the rights body
\nis widely respected for its high integrity.<\/p>\n
Many of the commission's recommendations to resolve human
\nrights disputes have been ignored by the conflicting parties,
\nparticularly the government. (byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-body-spurns-human-rights-bill-1447893297",
"image": ""
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