Bill benefits rights abusers: Activist
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives is expected to endorse the bill on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Tuesday, but a human rights campaigner doubts the effectiveness of the commission to fulfill its tasks.
Ifdal Kasim, director of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), said on Sunday the commission would face an uphill climb in its efforts to facilitate reconciliation between the victims and perpetrators of human rights abuses.
He said the bill contained conflicting articles that would hamper the reconciliation process.
"There is still a chance for the lawmakers to revise the bill before approving it," Ifdal told The Jakarta Post.
He also criticized the bill for favoring human rights perpetrators rather than helping the victims seek justice.
For example, he said, Article 27 in the bill stipulates that human rights victims shall receive compensation or rehabilitation only after the perpetrators are granted a presidential pardon.
Meanwhile, Article 24 says the commission must deliver a ruling no later than 90 days after receiving a report on human right violations. In its ruling, the commission may recommend that the government provide compensation, rehabilitation, or restitution to the victims, or suggest that the President grant amnesty to perpetrators.
Separately, human rights activist Albert Hasibuan said the bill's contents were fair enough to facilitate a reconciliation.
The truth and reconciliation commission bill, comprising 10 chapters and 46 articles, suggests that human rights violators can receive a formal pardon if they admit to their wrongdoings and the victims forgive them.
If the victims do not forgive their abusers, the commission can still recommend that the president grant them amnesty; in the case that alleged human rights perpetrators deny the accusations against them, they will be prosecuted by the human rights court.
The establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is mandated by a People's Consultative Assembly Decree issued in 2000, which declares the commission's purpose as boosting national unity through reconciliation.
According to the Assembly decree, Indonesian history has been witness to socio-economic disparities and oppression resulting from discriminative practices. Acts of discrimination, carried out either by the state or society, are considered forms of human rights abuse.
The government enacted in 2000 a law on the human rights tribunal, which is tasked with hearing cases of crimes against humanity that have taken place after the law came into effect.
Within the seven years it is to exist, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is expected to resolve cases of human rights violations that occurred between 1945 and 2000.
Families and victims of the Tanjung Priok massacre in 1984, the May 1998 riots, forced disappearances of government critics in 1997, the Trisakti shootings in May 1998, the Semanggi clash in September 1998 and the 1989 Lampung incident have opposed the bill on the grounds that it would allow the commission to keep human rights perpetrators from being prosecuted.
Meanwhile, the House military and police faction has suggested that the human rights cases be reconciled without disclosing the truth, as revealing it would only lead to new conflicts within the nation.