Legislators skip bill debate

JAKARTA: Many of the legislators deliberating the truth and reconciliation bill skipped the debate on Wednesday without explanation.

Only 13 of the 50 members of the House Special Committee attended Wednesday's debate, despite claims by committee chairman Sidarto Danusubroto that 26 legislators signed the attendance sheet.

No legislators from Vice President Hamzah Haz's United Development Party (PPP) showed up. There was no explanation for their absence.

According to Sidarto of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), many legislators were in the constituencies campaigning ahead of the elections.

"I will have to contact committee members one by one to attend this meeting," he said during the debate, which was attended by Minister of Justice and Human Right Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

Sidarto said the Daulatul Ummah Party (PDU) faction had sent a letter dated Feb. 9, 2004, announcing that it rejected the bill.

He did not detail the reasons behind the PDU's rejection.

The bill offers out-of-court settlements for human rights abuses that took place before 2000, the year Law No. 26/2000 on the human rights tribunal was passed. -- JP