Activists wary of reconciliation commission
Activists wary of reconciliation commission
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Past rights violators could take advantage of the planned Truth
and Reconciliation Commission as a means to whitewash the past
and keep their hands clean, rights activists warned on Saturday.
They were commenting on President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
statement before members of the People's Consultative Assembly
last Friday that the government was planning to establish a Truth
and Reconciliation Commission to deal with past human rights
violations.
In the Truth and Reconciliation Commission bill submitted to
the House of Representatives in June, past human rights
violations, including the mass killing in the aftermath of the
abortive coup in 1965, were to be settled by the victims and
perpetrators out of court.
Coordinator of the National Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras) Usman Hamid said the commission
would only provide impunity for security officers implicated in
various rights violations when carrying out their duties.
Asmara Nababan, former secretary-general of the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said the government had
to grant more power to the commission, otherwise "we will only
repeat the failure we experienced in bringing East Timor rights
violators to justice".
"The commission is complementary to the rights tribunal, it
has to have the authority to summon alleged rights violators
before offering to reconcile with the victims or proposing a
trial for those who ignore the summons.
"To avoid failure in summoning military officers implicated in
past rights abuses, the commission must be vested with subpoena
rights," Asmara told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
He was referring to the failure of Komnas HAM to summon the
perpetrators of the Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi II
incidents as well as the 1998 riots due to what he called
"technical reasons".
Megawati said on Friday that Komnas HAM should not necessarily
handle all human rights violations because "our history is full
of turmoil resulting in many bitter memories that can only be
resolved through special treatment".
Critics have said that the country's first ever human rights
tribunal, in which alleged human rights violators were prosecuted
in the former province of East Timor in 1999 had failed to break
the cycle of impunity.
From a total of 18 defendants, 10 military and police officers
and one civilian were acquitted. The remaining seven other
defendants, including former East Timor governor Abilio Jose
Osorio Soares and former Wiradharma military resort commander
Brig. Gen. M. Nur Muis, were sentenced to jail but remain free
pending appeal.
Up until now, the government has yet to establish an ad hoc
tribunal to try perpetrators of the 1984 bloodshed in Tanjung
Priok, North Jakarta, despite mounting demands from rights
activists.
Several military officers are alleged to have been involved in
the mass killing, including the incumbent Army's Special Forces
(Kopassus) Commander Maj. Gen. Sriyanto.
According to Usman Hamid, the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission bill has many flaws, including the mechanism for
providing compensation for victims of rights abuses and the
principle of retroactivity.
"It is not immediately clear how the government will provide
appropriate compensation for rights victims.
"The government has also said that the commission is to
facilitate reconciliation between violators and victims of
violations that took place before the enactment of Law No.
26/2000 on the ad hoc rights tribunal. Does it mean the killing
of hundreds of civilians in North Sulawesi during the Dutch
colonial period will also be covered by the commission?" Usman
asked.
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Past rights violators could take advantage of the planned Truth
and Reconciliation Commission as a means to whitewash the past
and keep their hands clean, rights activists warned on Saturday.
They were commenting on President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
statement before members of the People's Consultative Assembly
last Friday that the government was planning to establish a Truth
and Reconciliation Commission to deal with past human rights
violations.
In the Truth and Reconciliation Commission bill submitted to
the House of Representatives in June, past human rights
violations, including the mass killing in the aftermath of the
abortive coup in 1965, were to be settled by the victims and
perpetrators out of court.
Coordinator of the National Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras) Usman Hamid said the commission
would only provide impunity for security officers implicated in
various rights violations when carrying out their duties.
Asmara Nababan, former secretary-general of the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said the government had
to grant more power to the commission, otherwise "we will only
repeat the failure we experienced in bringing East Timor rights
violators to justice".
"The commission is complementary to the rights tribunal, it
has to have the authority to summon alleged rights violators
before offering to reconcile with the victims or proposing a
trial for those who ignore the summons.
"To avoid failure in summoning military officers implicated in
past rights abuses, the commission must be vested with subpoena
rights," Asmara told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
He was referring to the failure of Komnas HAM to summon the
perpetrators of the Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi II
incidents as well as the 1998 riots due to what he called
"technical reasons".
Megawati said on Friday that Komnas HAM should not necessarily
handle all human rights violations because "our history is full
of turmoil resulting in many bitter memories that can only be
resolved through special treatment".
Critics have said that the country's first ever human rights
tribunal, in which alleged human rights violators were prosecuted
in the former province of East Timor in 1999 had failed to break
the cycle of impunity.
From a total of 18 defendants, 10 military and police officers
and one civilian were acquitted. The remaining seven other
defendants, including former East Timor governor Abilio Jose
Osorio Soares and former Wiradharma military resort commander
Brig. Gen. M. Nur Muis, were sentenced to jail but remain free
pending appeal.
Up until now, the government has yet to establish an ad hoc
tribunal to try perpetrators of the 1984 bloodshed in Tanjung
Priok, North Jakarta, despite mounting demands from rights
activists.
Several military officers are alleged to have been involved in
the mass killing, including the incumbent Army's Special Forces
(Kopassus) Commander Maj. Gen. Sriyanto.
According to Usman Hamid, the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission bill has many flaws, including the mechanism for
providing compensation for victims of rights abuses and the
principle of retroactivity.
"It is not immediately clear how the government will provide
appropriate compensation for rights victims.
"The government has also said that the commission is to
facilitate reconciliation between violators and victims of
violations that took place before the enactment of Law No.
26/2000 on the ad hoc rights tribunal. Does it mean the killing
of hundreds of civilians in North Sulawesi during the Dutch
colonial period will also be covered by the commission?" Usman
asked.