Government to submit two rights bills to House
Government to submit two rights bills to House
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza
Mahendra said on Tuesday the government would submit two separate
bills to the House of Representatives in the third week of March
to help bring a closure to past human rights abuses in the
country.
The minister said that a bill on the establishment of a truth
and reconciliation commission would be submitted together with a
new bill on a human rights tribunal.
"We are expecting that on March 13 the House will reject
Government Regulation No.1/1999 on a human rights tribunal, so we
can withdraw it and submit the new bills a week later," he
announced.
The government is in the final stages of drafting a new bill
on a rights tribunal to address the weaknesses of the previously
submitted regulation, which was drafted during the tenure of
former president B.J. Habibie.
In particular the new bill would apply a retroactive clause
and contain articles in which perpetrators could be tried for
"omission".
Speaking after a hearing with House Commission II for law and
home affairs, Yusril said the bill on a truth and reconciliation
commission was to anticipate cases which could not be judicially
resolved through the proposed rights tribunal.
The idea to set up a commission began to gain serious
attention last year after the new era of openness suddenly
unveiled a slew of allegations of rights abuses throughout the
country.
In December, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
HAM) also stressed the importance of such a commission to resolve
rights cases as the country was judicially ill-equipped to
resolve and reconcile these cases.
Non-governmental organizations and Komnas HAM had referred to
South Africa's commission as a model to emulate.
Yusril warned that if the country did not have a sufficient
mechanism with which to handle the long dark list of alleged
abuses occurring throughout the country's history, these cases
could become a potential dilemma which could spark public
discontent.
"Such a possibility could cause a major political setback.
That's why, in order to answer the public's demand, we have
drafted the bill," Yusril said, adding that the proposed
commission could also help reconcile conflicting parties to avoid
retaliatory action stemming from past conflict.
"But there is always the possibility that if the commission
can come up with new evidence, an old case could be brought back
to the human rights tribunal," Yusril said. (04)