Aceh to pay compensation to conflict victims

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The Aceh provincial administration will pay a total of Rp 13.2 billion in compensation for 4,400 victims of human rights abuses in the war-ridden province before the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday, saying the payments were a part of a comprehensive solution to human rights violations during the conflict.

Aceh Deputy Governor Mizwar Abubakar said the victims would receive Rp 3 million each as part of an interim compensation package the government would provide to help the victims and their relatives.

"The victims whose identities have already been registered by the local social affairs office will receive Rp 2 million and Rp 1 million in two phases during the fasting month," he told The Jakarta Post here on Saturday.

He added that the recipients would include the relatives of Acehnese people who were killed by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Mizwar explained that the compensation was only a small part of a bigger compensation package the government would pay to the conflict victims.

"We are still preparing a qanun (bylaw) to regulate the compensation. After the bylaw is endorsed, the victims will receive around Rp 50 million each," he said, adding that the funds were allocated under the 2002 state budget and the provincial budget.

Mizwar insisted that the compensation was what was locally known as diyat, but added that it was not aimed at stopping the victims from bringing their cases before the courts.

"In spite of the compensation, all victims are allowed to bring their cases to court to seek justice. The authorities have never prevented the victims from filing lawsuit against the officials responsible for human rights abuses in the past," he said.

Diyat is an Islamic mechanism for paying a certain mount of money in compensation for those victimized in conflicts. Besides, there is also qisas, which requires retaliatory sanctions on those guilty of violating the law.

"The law in Indonesia knows only diyat and this is in line with Eastern culture," he explained.

He said the provincial administration had never pressured the victims to accept the financial compensation and, so far, no victims had opposed or rejected the humanitarian aid.

Asked about the number of victims affected during the conflict, Maimul Fidar, an expert advisor to the governor, said the provincial administration had drawn up an inventory on the victims in collaboration with the non-governmental organizations handling human rights in the province.

"According our data, there are 5,600 victims of human rights abuses while 13,000 others went missing. But we have decided to give priority to those who are in urgent need of financial aid to help them survive," he said.

Meanwhile, Jufri, coordinator of the Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Abuses (SPKP), said his organization would oppose the compensation if it was treated as diyat.

"If the compensation is considered as diyat, we will oppose it because the word assumes that the victims have pardoned the rights violators," he said.