Aceh to pay compensation to conflict victims

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.