Government to submit draft law on human rights court

Government to submit draft law on human rights court

JAKARTA (JP): The government is to seek the House of
Representatives' approval for a draft law on a human rights court
that would open the chance for it to bring Indonesian Military
(TNI) top brass to trial for alleged involvement in last year's
East Timor violence.

Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on
Monday the first reading of the draft would be presented next
week.

"The bill contains an article that allows for the examination
of human rights abuses committed in the past," Yusril said after
a plenary session to hear House factions' responses to the
government regulation in lieu of law on a human rights court.

Yusril said the bill would not contain the controversial
retroactive principle in trying the human rights abusers, but
would give the House the authority to decide upon whether a past
case could be brought to justice.

A government-sanctioned inquiry into human rights violations
in East Timor has implicated suspended coordinating minister for
political affairs and security Gen. Wiranto and 32 military and
civilian officials for the mayhem that erupted after the
overwhelming rejection of Indonesia's wide-ranging autonomy offer
in August last year.

Wiranto, who was the TNI chief when East Timor was in flames,
has repeatedly denied responsibility for any atrocities, saying
that he did many things to avoid clashes between East Timorese
people.

Asked whether Wiranto could be tried, Yusril said it was up to
the Attorney General's Office, which was now examining the
inquiry reports.

Yusril said the bill could be passed in three months.

He said nothing was wrong with the investigation conducted by
the Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Abuses (KPP HAM) in
East Timor, even though it was based upon a government regulation
in a lieu of law that was unanimously rejected by the House on
Monday.

"KPP HAM is over and the investigation should be followed up
by the Attorney General's Office," Yusril said.

All 10 House factions agreed to drop the government regulation
which was proposed by the government of former president B.J.
Habibie last year.

"The regulation contains a basic weakness since it did not
allow for past human rights abusers to be brought to justice,"
Muhyiddin Suwondo from the National Awakening Party (PKB) said.

Muhyiddin suggested that the new bill should contain a
retroactive principle to allow for the examination of human
rights abuses in East Timor, Aceh, Maluku and Irian Jaya.

Legislator Soenarto from the Military faction suggested that
the bill allow for ordinary people to be tried for human rights
abuses, instead of just state officials as has been stated in the
regulation.

The Attorney General's Office decided on Monday to step up its
probe into East Timor debacle by forming a team to investigate
and question those implicated.

Spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, Soehandoyo, said
reports submitted by KPP HAM had been verified by the office's
team and declared acceptable.

"All materials submitted by KPP HAM are acceptable and we will
step it up (the probe) to investigation level," Soehandoyo told
journalists.

He said, however, that none of 33 military and civilian
officials implicated in the inquiry's findings had been declared
a suspect.

"That will be done after the investigation team has been
formed and has done its job. Everybody will be summoned later,"
he said, adding the team would consist of state prosecutors,
police, military police personnel and experts.

Soehandoyo gave no timeframe for the forming of the team,
other than to say it would be "soon," nor did he say when they
were expected to complete the new probe.

Jakarta is under considerable international pressure to bring
those involved in the human rights abuses in East Timor last year
to justice. (jun/byg)