DPR Members Urge Government to Restore Victims of Human Rights Violations

Members of Commission XIII of the House of Representatives (DPR) Ahmad Basarah has urged President Prabowo Subianto’s administration to ensure that the recovery and provision of compensation for victims of past gross human rights (HAM) violations proceeds optimally.

Basarah emphasised the importance of synchronising victim data across ministries and agencies. He assessed that resolving the issue solely through non-judicial mechanisms is insufficient to address the victims’ suffering. “If Suharto (Indonesia’s 2nd President) was given the title of national hero, victims of gross human rights violations must also be served maximally by the state,” Basarah stated at the DPR, MPR, and DPD Complex on Wednesday, 1 April 2026.

In a working meeting with the Coordinating Ministry for Law, Human Rights, and Security; the Ministry of Human Rights; the Ministry of Health; the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM); and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), the legislators from Commission XIII of the DPR highlighted the lack of data synchronisation regarding the number of victims.

Basarah explained that in the pre-reformasi era, victims of gross human rights violations had to bear various consequences, including identity registrations that impacted their civil rights. These impacts included difficulties in obtaining employment and state services, even affecting subsequent generations.

Therefore, he urged the state to remain accountable through the provision of compensation to maintain a sense of justice for the treatment by the past regime. “This is hoped to become a momentum to truly uplift the dignity of the victims,” said the politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP).

Another member of Commission XIII of the DPR, Mafirion, assessed that the data presented by the ministries and agencies in this meeting was not much different from what was presented a decade ago. “The data presented repeats the past, only the people have changed,” Mafirion said during the meeting at the DPR, MPR, and DPD Complex on Thursday, 2 April 2026.

He cited the difference in data between Komnas HAM and LPSK as an example. Komnas HAM records more than 8,000 victims of gross human rights violations, while LPSK records around 6,000 people. According to Mafirion, this ongoing lack of synchronisation has the potential to hinder victim recovery efforts, even though the data collection process has been ongoing for nearly two decades. “I’ve always said this from before, these gentlemen are not working, just repeating,” he stated.

Deputy Chairman of Commission XIII of the DPR Andreas Hugo Pareira emphasised that the fulfilment of compensation and recovery for victims and witnesses of gross human rights violations must be realised immediately, including through social guarantees and other forms of compensation. According to the PDIP politician, this step is important to reduce the vulnerability of victims while strengthening public trust that the state is present in providing protection and justice.