Expert, activists seek end to state-sponsored discrimination
Expert, activists seek end to state-sponsored discrimination
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Analysts and human right groups urged the government on Monday to
end "state-sponsored discrimination" of Chinese-Indonesians and
family members of suspected communist party members, rather than
wasting more time on a mostly "toothless" truth and
reconciliation commission.
"Ending all discriminatory policies would do far more good
than establishing a truth and reconciliation commission," Ikrar
Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) told
legislators in a hearing here on Monday.
Currently, the House of Representatives (DPR) is deliberating
a bill on the establishment of a truth and reconciliation
commission to deal with past human rights abuses in the country,
but activists claim it has all come too late.
Citing "state-sponsored discrimination" against Indonesians of
Chinese descent and relatives of former members of the Indonesian
Communist Party (PKI), Ikrar said putting an end to government
racism and political biases would promote reconciliation without
the need to establish a special commission.
Chinese-Indonesians, for instance, are still required to
obtain a special letter issued, ironically, by the Ministry of
Justice and Human Rights, which specifically states their
ethnicity, along with dozens of other government policies that
are designed to discriminate against them. As such they are
barred from most government institutions.
Children and relatives of former PKI members have their IDs
marked, making it almost impossible for them to obtain a job with
government institutions as civil servants. The PKI was blamed by
then Maj. Gen. Soeharto and his military colleagues for a coup
d'etat attempt in 1965, and that incident led to the ascension of
Soeharto as president, as well as hundreds of thousands of brutal
deaths of suspected PKI supporters throughout the country.
Munarman, director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation
(YLBHI), said the House should have begun deliberation on the
truth and reconciliation commission right after Soeharto's
downfall. Current talks on the creation of such a commission had
lost momentum, he added.
"The implication is that most articles in the bill are just
technical matters regarding the work of the truth commission,"
Munarman added.
Fellow activist Robertus Robert criticized the bill, saying
that the power given to the truth commission was too
insignificant to make much of a difference.
According to Robert, with such limited powers as stipulated in
the bill, the truth and reconciliation commission would be as
"toothless" as the ad hoc inquiry committee set up by the
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
In the proposed bill, the truth and reconciliation commission
is only in charge of investigating and revealing human rights
violations and promoting reconciliation between the victims and
perpetrators.
With such limited powers, the commission would never be able
to perform its tasks, he said.
Legislator Sidharto Danusubroto meanwhile said that the bill
on the truth and reconciliation commission was important and
lawmakers planned to "hear more input from society."
"We plan to spend two months to hold hearings with elements in
society and government officials. If necessary, all presidential
candidates must explain their opinions (on the planned
commission) in hearings," Sidharto said.
Some articles in the bill
---------------------------------------------------------------
- Article 4: The Commission functions to disclose the truth over
gross human rights violation and to seek
reconciliation.
- Article 6: The Commission coordinates with the court to summon
victims, perpetrators, or others for clarification
and get documents either from civilian, military,
or private institutions.
- Article 26: Compensation and rehabilitation can be given (to
the victims) should the request for amnesty (from
the perpetrators) be approved.
- Article 43: The Commission works for a period of three years
and may be extended for another two years.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Truth and Reconciliation Commission Bill