Compensation row delays truth bill
Compensation row delays truth bill
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta
Disagreement among Cabinet ministers over compensation for the
victims of past human rights abuses has delayed the submission of
the truth and reconciliation commission bill to the House of
Representatives, a government official says.
The draft was submitted by the Ministry of Justice and Human
Rights to the State Secretariat six months ago but no progress
has been made so far as regards its submission to the House.
"There are several articles that need further discussion so as
to avoid differing views among Cabinet members," State Secretary
Bambang Kesowo said on Wednesday.
Asked whether the contentious articles included a proposal to
provide compensation for the victims of past human rights
violations, Bambang said: "Yes, this is one of the (contentious)
issues."
He refused to elaborate further.
Bambang gave assurances, however, that the bill would soon be
discussed with President Megawati Soekarnoputri and then
submitted to the House for deliberation.
"We are planning to discuss the bill as soon as possible, but
sometimes it is difficult to push ahead with the schedule for
certain bills," he said.
The proposed truth and reconciliation commission is expected
to resolve past human rights violations, especially those that
occurred during the 32-year rule of former president Soeharto.
The commission, patterned after South Africa's Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, would select the cases to be processed
by identifying the facts, the victims and the perpetrators. It
later would have to decide whether or not the victims or their
heirs would be eligible to receive compensation and the
perpetrators eligible for amnesty or presidential pardon.
If the perpetrators refuse to apologize to the victims or the
victims refuse to forgive the perpetrators, such cases would go
before the human rights tribunal.
The bill requires the government to provide protection for
witnesses, victims and the perpetrators of rights abuses until a
settlement is reached. It also obliges the government to pay
compensation and to rehabilitate the victims of rights abuses.
Deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas HAM) Salahuddin Wahid urged the government on Wednesday
to immediately iron out its differences and submit the bill to
the House.
"The bill will provide answers to past abuses and will help
build peace in the country," he said after a meeting with Vice
President Hamzah Haz.
Meanwhile, former justice minister Muladi welcomed the bill on
Wednesday, saying that it was imperative for settling conflicts
arising from past gross human rights violations.
"We won't be able to step forward into a better future unless
the people agree on reconciliation," he said.
"The perpetrators must apologize to the victims and, on the
other hand, the victims must forgive the perpetrators because the
spirit of the commission is all about reconciliation and peace,"
Muladi said.
Separately, lawyer Johnson Panjaitan of the Indonesian Legal
Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), argued that the bill was
an attempt to exempt the perpetrators of past human rights abuses
from possible criminal charges.
"The government seems to want to maintain impunity (for the
perpetrators of human rights violations)," Johnson said.