Milosevic's handover a precedent for RI

Milosevic's handover a precedent for RI

By Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak

JAKARTA (JP): Observers warned that the extradition of former
Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic could set a precedent for
the prosecution of Indonesians accused of human rights abuses, if
the government here fails to bring legal proceedings against
them.

Noted human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis pointed out
Friday that while Jakarta had not ratified the statute of the
International Criminal Court, the international community could
still endeavor to bring the perpetrators of rights abuses before
it.

The government, therefore, said Todung, should accelerate the
establishment of its own tribunal.

"We don't recognize the international court's jurisdiction nor
universal principles which allow the extradition of our nationals
who allegedly abuse human rights. But it doesn't mean we're
beyond foreign intervention in these cases," Todung, who is
executive director of the Center for Human Rights Studies
(Yapusham), told The Jakarta Post.

"It depends on our own rights tribunal. If it is considered
that it has failed to try rights cases, it's not beyond the
bounds of possibility that there would be pressure from the world
community to convene an international court to try these cases,"
he added.

Indonesia has been in the spotlight in this regard,
particularly concerning alleged rights abuses in relation to the
events which transpired in East Timor in 1999.

The government has pledged to establish a tribunal to try
these cases. The Attorney General's Office has prepared
indictments against 18 suspects allegedly involved in human
rights crimes.

Although the law on the human rights tribunal was passed late
last year, the government has yet to establish one.

The issue of the tribunal has attracted new attention
following the news that Milosevic was handed over by his
government on Thursday to face a war crimes tribunal in The
Hague.

He is charged with perpetrating crimes against humanity and is
accused of being responsible for mass killings and the expulsions
of ethnic groups during his term as president before being
toppled last October.

Secretary-general of the National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas Ham) Asmara Nababan said, however, that while the
possibility of an international tribunal for Indonesians
allegedly responsible for rights crimes existed, it was still
very distant.

"Our tribunal should go ahead first, then we'll talk about
such a possibility," he told the Post.

But political observer Dewi Fortuna Anwar was doubtful that
Indonesia could withstand the momentum of an international
tribunal if one were to be convened.

Dewi noted that Indonesia remained vulnerable to foreign
pressure due to its economic dependence on the international
community for aid.

She argued that the principle of national sovereignty by
itself was no longer a powerful argument to deter such an
international court.

"For countries which have lots of bargaining chips, they would
not be easily bluffed," she told the Post by telephone.

Dewi pointed as an example to a U.S. bill which forbids
military exchanges and the supply of weapons to the Indonesia
Army if rights perpetrators were not brought to justice.

"Because Indonesia is still in the transition to democracy and
is considered strategic, the government may still get support
from developed countries, but not for the military.

"Therefore, Indonesia has to prove its commitment because it
could eventually hamper military professionalism which later
could also affect the democratization process," she said.

"Even if we have good relations with the Bush administration,
it's difficult for them to revoke the bill, especially with the
weak position of the governing party as it is not the majority in
the legislature," she argued.

Warning of how serious the matter was, Dewi urged the
government to realize the dangerous impact of ignoring such cases
for the nation as a whole, and not to only protect a few from
legal proceedings.

"Anyway, it's far better for us to punish the perpetrators
than the international court," she said.