Amnesty granted if victims forgive: House

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Lawmakers have criticized a stipulation in the bill on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which allows it to recommend the granting of a presidential pardon for human rights abusers, despite the fact that they have not been forgiven by their victims.

The legislators said that human rights violators should only be pardoned by the president after they and their victims forgive one another.

The contention on the crucial issue prompted the House of Representatives to postpone the deliberation of the bill until next week.

"We want a clear explanation of the stipulation, otherwise it must be discarded," M. Akil Mochtar, deputy chairman of the House committee deliberating the bill, said here on Friday.

He said the committee members were worried that the stipulation could be misused to give or maintain impunity for perpetrators of human rights abuses.

Moreover, Akil also questioned why the "suspicious stipulation" was not set out in the articles of the bill, but only in its explanatory section.

Article 28 of the bill states that the truth commission could recommend amnesty only after human rights abusers admit their wrongdoings and their victims forgive them.

But the article does not offer a solution to a situation where the victims refuse to forgive human rights violators. Unexpectedly, the bill's explanatory section states that the perpetrators can be granted amnesty in the absence of forgiveness from their victims.

The House is expected to finish deliberating the bill on Sept. 7.

Several other bills, scheduled to be passed into law by the House in its final sitting period, include those on regional administration, Cabinet ministry, Presidential advisory council, the 2005 state budget, revisions to the law on foundations, and free trade zone.

Separately, the House committee deliberating the revision of Law No. 22/1999 on regional administrations was rushing to finish. Its members had to stay at a hotel in Central Jakarta to discuss the bill intensively.

Committee members are optimistic that they will complete the bill's deliberations before ending their five-year term at the end of September.

"We continue discussing the bill. God willing, we will finish the bill as scheduled," said committee member Chozin Chumaidy.

In a related development, the House committee deliberating the bill on Cabinet ministry and the presidential advisory council could not begin deliberation because the government has not appointed ministers to represent it in the discussions.

During a hearing with State Minister for Communication and Information Syamsul Mu'arif, several legislators urged the President to appoint ministers to represent the government in the deliberations of the two bills.

The bills on the Cabinet ministry and the Presidential advisory council are crucial for the next President elected in the Sept. 20 runoff as a guideline in forming the Cabinet lineup.

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Key articles in the truth and reconciliation bill ============================================================== Article 28: - The Truth and Reconciliation Commission can issue a recommendation that the President grant amnesty to human rights abusers only after they admit their wrongdoings and their victims forgive them. - It must be followed by exposing the truth about the abuses. ============================================================== Source: House special committee