Megawati urged to sign rights trial regulations
Megawati urged to sign rights trial regulations
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra
expressed hope on Monday that government regulations for witness
protection and the rehabilitation and compensation for rights
abuse victims would be endorsed by the President before the first
hearing of the ad hoc human rights trial takes place.
The first hearing of the long-delayed human rights trial for
rights violations in East Timor, with suspects including three
Army generals, one police general and several other officers, is
scheduled for March 14.
"We all hope that the President will soon sign the regulations
because we want the human rights trial to proceed smoothly,"
Yusril told reporters at his office on Monday.
Seven of the 18 suspects in gross human rights violations
before, during and after the United Nations-organized referendum
in East Timor in 1999 have been charged with crimes against
humanity including genocide which carries the death penalty.
Yusril said last week that his ministry had submitted drafts
of two government regulations -- one on witness protection and
the other on rehabilitation and compensation for rights violation
victims -- but neither had been signed by President Megawati
Soekarnoputri as of Monday evening.
The two regulations are necessary to encourage witnesses and
rights violation victims to come forward and testify in the
trial.
Human rights activists have deplored the government's slow
response in equipping the rights trial with the regulations,
arguing that they should have been issued when the law on the
human rights tribunal was enacted in November 2000.
Yusril said the regulation on witness protection was the most
important to ensure that the witnesses would feel safe enough to
come forward, while the regulation on compensation and
rehabilitation could probably wait until after the trial begins.
"The regulation on compensation can only be useful if the
judges oblige the government to pay compensation to the victims
and witnesses," he added.