Ever elusive justice

Ever elusive justice

Indonesia's ability to deliver and to uphold justice has come
under the world spotlight once again. International condemnation
came swift and fast on Friday as soon as a district court in
Jakarta sentenced six pro-Indonesia East Timorese to between 10
and 20 months in jail for their roles in the September murder of
three United Nations humanitarian aid workers.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the sentences
were "a wholly unacceptable response to the ultimate sacrifice"
of the three UN staffers who were killed while working in the
Indonesian refugee town of Atambua close to the East Timor border
in East Nusa Tenggara province. The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has vented its outrage at the
sentences. The U.S. State Department, in expressing its
disappointment, called into question "Indonesia's commitment to
the principle of accountability".

Are these criticisms, which amount to an attack on Indonesia's
legal system, fair and justifiable? To some Indonesians, these
attacks border on interfering in the country's legal system.
Indonesia certainly cannot be accused of not observing due
process of law with regard to the trial and conviction of the
East Timorese responsible for the murder of the UN workers. The
outcome may not be satisfactory to the outside world, but the
trial was open and closely monitored by the international media
and observers. The six men were tried and convicted by the laws
of the country. There is no doubt about that.

The North Jakarta District Court said that since the UN
staffers were killed by a mob, it was difficult to link their
deaths directly to the six defendants. The court dropped the
manslaughter charges against three main defendants on the basis
of insufficient evidence. Attorney General Marzuki Darusman,
whose office was responsible for prosecuting the six East
Timorese, has announced his plan to appeal against the sentences,
sticking to the original demand for a minimum of three years
imprisonment. Setting aside international criticism, however,
Marzuki said "the more important thing is that the supremacy of
the law works as it does".

As people in this country and abroad must realize by now, it
is one thing for Indonesia to carry out due process of law and
completely another whether this process ensures the delivery of
justice, which is the very objective of this whole exercise.
Looking at the brutal way that the Atambua murders were carried
out and at the humanitarian nature of the mission of the UN
staffers, there is a nagging feeling that our sense of justice,
and not only that of the members of the international community,
has not been met by Friday's court verdicts. The United Nations
has a valid case to lodge a complaint or to question Indonesia's
competence in delivering justice.

The fact of the matter is that the Indonesian court has failed
to punish the people who should be held responsible for the
deaths of three international humanitarian aid workers. Once
again, Indonesia has failed to live up to its responsibility as a
member of the international community. In the recent past,
Indonesia has been criticized for its failure to punish the
people, including military and police officers, who should be
held responsible for the massive campaign of violence and
destruction in East Timor in September 1999 after the people
voted overwhelmingly to have their own state separate from
Indonesia.

It is not only in East Timor that the Indonesian government
has failed to uphold the law and deliver justice. This is still
happening all the time in almost every part of the country. The
list is too extensive to be presented here. Suffice to say here
is that the Indonesian legal system, and the people who should
administer and enforce the law, have done a miserable job. Part
of the problem in this country could be resolved if only we had a
strong and credible legal system, including the laws as well as
law enforcers and administrators.

On the court verdict for the murder of the three UN workers in
Atambua, we cannot simply lay the blame on the judges who passed
the sentences. The Attorney General's Office and the Indonesian
Police in fact must take the lion's share of the blame for their
failure to come up with a stronger case and with the necessary
evidence to ensure convictions commensurate with the crimes
committed. The way the case against the six East Timorese was
built and presented in court, it came down more like a mere
formality to show to the international community that there is
due process of law in this country. From the way the case was
handled from the beginning, it was clear that there was no
genuine intention to uphold justice and to deliver just
punishment to those responsible. For all we know, the real
perpetrators of that heinous crime in Atambua last September
might still be out there roaming free.