The case for resolving past wrongs<\/p>\n
By Mary S. Zurbuchen<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Now that the excitement of the presidential
\nelection has dissipated, the country is turning to President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid and his Cabinet to address the challenges of
\nits ravaged economy, restore confidence in public institutions,
\nrebuild its image abroad, and heal the wounds of civil conflict.<\/p>\n
To shore up a weakened sense of national unity and reassure a
\nreform-minded society that his administration is breaking with
\nthe practices of its predecessor New Order, Abdurrahman and Vice
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri will seek to foster
\nreconciliation and address chronic violence occurring in
\nconflicts over justice, power and resources.<\/p>\n
A legacy of human rights violations affects ethnic Chinese in
\nIndonesia's cities, while regions such as Aceh, Irian Jaya,
\nMaluku and Kalimantan suffer unrest. Even though the separation
\nof East Timor has been ratified by the People's Consultative
\nAssembly, post-referendum abuses by organized militias made for a
\nbitter separation, presenting even greater challenges for both
\nIndonesia and East Timor in coming to terms with their changed
\nrelationship.<\/p>\n
An important addition in Abdurrahman's Cabinet lineup is the
\noffice of the state minister of human rights affairs, headed by
\nthe Acehnese Hasballah M. Saad, which is expected to work in
\ncoordination with the existing National Commission for Human
\nRights.<\/p>\n
Within Indonesia, independent efforts to document and expose
\nwrongdoings, including kidnapping, disappearances, extrajudicial
\nkillings and torture by military and police personnel, are
\ncontinuing. Notable examples are the work of the Commission for
\nMissing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), and the
\nIndependent Inquiry into Violence in Aceh, begun under the
\nHabibie administration.<\/p>\n
The international community has also indicated particular
\ninterest in how Indonesia records its human rights history. An
\ninvestigation team has now been established by the United Nations
\nHigh Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, charged with
\ndocumenting abuses around the Aug. 30 United Nations-supervised
\nreferendum in East Timor.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian National Commission for Human Rights' own
\ndecision to launch a concurrent investigation into similar
\nviolations is an important effort to ensure that evidence of
\natrocities will in due course be made public.<\/p>\n
While it is too early to predict the outcome of these
\nendeavors, they both point toward the larger and increasingly
\nurgent question of how Indonesia can come to terms with crimes of
\ncorruption and state violence during the New Order period.<\/p>\n
For some Indonesians, it is important to build awareness of
\npast failures to protect human rights or check abuses of power,
\nbut even more important to press forward to tackle the serious
\nproblems the country still faces in the form of a faltering
\neconomy, persistent inter-group conflicts and stubborn
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
They feel an urgency in rebuilding a sense of national unity
\nand purpose, and worry that a lengthy process of assigning guilt
\nand seeking retribution for abuses will be distracting at best,
\nand create even deeper social conflicts at worst.<\/p>\n
For others, it is essential to settle accounts with
\nwrongdoers as soon as possible, to make sure that future state
\nand military leaders will be deterred from similar acts, to make
\na public record of criminal behavior involving human rights
\nabuses, and to begin restoring the credibility of the military
\nand public institutions.<\/p>\n
In this view, Indonesia has been weakened by a long-standing
\npractice of hiding human rights violations from public view, and
\nby official reluctance to pursue possible cases of criminal acts
\nto the full extent of the law.<\/p>\n
How much truth is sufficient to give the past its due, and how
\nmuch accountability is to be demanded from perpetrators of
\nserious abuses? Who is to be included among the categories of
\nvictims, and how far back in time must rights violations be
\nexamined?<\/p>\n
How can shedding light on crimes and atrocities lead to
\nreconciliation of deeply-held resentments? What kinds of
\ncompensation for victims, and amnesty or forgiveness for
\nperpetrators willing to confess their actions, are desirable?
\nWhat type of independent body would be most effective in
\nIndonesia in mounting an official truth-seeking inquiry -- a
\ncentralized commission, or several loosely coordinated regional
\nbodies?<\/p>\n
In debating these matters, Indonesia is joining the group of
\ncountries that have sought resolution of a legacy of rights
\nviolations through processes of investigation and testimonial.
\nCollectively, the efforts of some 20 separate national bodies --
\nfrequently termed "Truth Commissions" -- over the past two
\ndecades have influenced an understanding of universal human
\nrights and their application.<\/p>\n
From Eastern Europe and Latin America to Africa and Asia,
\nwherever societies have found it necessary to confront memories
\nof a difficult past in the transition to a more democratic
\nfuture, there is a growing body of experience and lessons
\ndemonstrated by processes some call "truth-seeking" or
\n"transitional justice".<\/p>\n
Such processes embody a people's need to recollect, express,
\nconfront, and resolve collective or individual trauma and
\nresponsibility following periods of widespread internal violence.<\/p>\n
Recovery and reconstruction of historical memory has enabled
\nsome societies to begin difficult processes of forgiveness and
\nreconciliation.<\/p>\n
In determining the shape of its own historical memory, it
\nwill be important for Indonesia to draw upon these experiences of
\nother societies, to forge its own understanding of the truth to
\nbe recorded, and the best way to go about this.<\/p>\n
In that record it is clear that there is no perfect system,
\nand no single approach that is ready to be adopted. Even the
\nwell-known Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa
\nneeded 18 months of thorough public debate and consensus-building
\nbefore it was officially chartered. It will be vital for any
\nofficial truth-seeking effort in Indonesia to be preceded by
\npublic debate about the aims, format and powers of such an
\nendeavor.<\/p>\n
A few common practices do tend to characterize the formal
\ninstitutions called "truth commissions": they have official
\nstatus, they are chartered to operate for a limited time, they
\ninvestigate particular violations, and their results are
\nformulated in a report.<\/p>\n
Beyond these features, truth commissions' mandates, powers and
\nfunctions vary widely. Commission members may include government
\nor military figures. Their reports do not always name
\nperpetrators, and are not always linked to other processes such
\nas prosecution, amnesty, compensation, or lustration (removal of
\nperpetrators from public positions).<\/p>\n
Some truth commissions have taken testimony or identified
\nperpetrators secretly, while others have made a public record of
\nsuch evidence. A truth commission might have broad subpoena
\npowers, or might be dependent on voluntary submission of
\nevidence.<\/p>\n
International experience shows that there are many difficult
\nproblems and imperfect solutions along the road toward truth and
\nreconciliation. Should Indonesia, then, begin the process of
\noutlining an official truth-seeking mechanism?<\/p>\n
Indonesians themselves are in the best position to craft the
\nright answer and the most fitting institutional format for any
\ntruth commission endeavor. I would suggest at least three
\nimportant ways in which the truth commission approach could make
\na contribution in opening hidden histories and laying the basis
\nfor a renewed and resilient social compact.<\/p>\n
A clear break with the past. The truth commission process of
\ninvestigation, giving witness, and establishing accountability
\ncan help bring people together around a clear commitment to halt
\npast practices of injustice and abuse. The title of the famous
\nreport from Argentina's National Commission on the Disappeared,
\nNunca Mas or "Never Again", is a powerful expression of such a
\nunified will.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the momentum of a governmental transition could
\nbe used to debate the notion of a truth-seeking body, thus
\nbuilding public confidence that reformasi (political reform) will
\nindeed bring fundamental changes in human rights observance.<\/p>\n
The basic purpose of truth commissions is to build a factual
\nrecord of events and actions, and to make that knowledge
\npermanent and public. Beyond knowledge-building, however, lies a
\nprocess of recognition of trauma and suffering for individuals.<\/p>\n
It is this ability to offer acknowledgement to victims that
\ntheir individual rights have been violated that has made some
\ntruth commissions effective instruments for forging
\nreconciliation within society. While knowledge is important in
\nconfronting actual abuses, acknowledgment among victims and
\nperpetrators builds bonds of common humanity.<\/p>\n
While truth commissions have produced widely differing kinds
\nof reports, they have generally built a lasting record available
\nto future generations.<\/p>\n
The testimony and documents gathered in a truth-seeking
\nprocess can stimulate new understandings of the past, empower
\npreviously suppressed voices to be heard, and enable society to
\nreview and rewrite history following prolonged periods of
\nauthoritarianism, censorship, and a domination of public memory
\nby official state-guided "history".<\/p>\n
Such records can also stand as a bulwark against future
\nattempts to distort the public record. In Indonesia, a truth
\ncommission could prompt new interpretations that would enrich the
\nteaching and writing of history in days to come.<\/p>\n
The present moment offers the opportunity for Indonesians to
\nbegin a broad consultative process to determine how they
\nthemselves want to address the legacy of historical patterns of
\ninjustice.<\/p>\n
Both the risks and potential rewards offered by a truth-
\ncommission process are great. It is up to Indonesia to decide
\nwhether a national effort to revisit the past could indeed bring
\na promise of hope, unity and national commitment for future
\ngenerations.<\/p>\n
The writer has lived in Indonesia for 15 years during her
\ncareer, and currently serves as the representative for Indonesia
\nat the Ford Foundation's Jakarta Office.<\/p>",
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