New inquiry into alleged 1998 rapes draws mixed reactions
New inquiry into alleged 1998 rapes draws mixed reactions
JAKARTA (JP): The government decision to start a fresh
investigation into alleged widespread sexual abuse during the May
1998 riot received mixed reactions from female activists
concerning the relevance of the inquiry.
Feminist and human rights activist Rita Serena Kalibonso said
a new inquiry was a waste of time, as the government should now
be concentrating more on concrete actions to fulfill its
political responsibility for the riot.
"The case does not necessarily have to be settled inside the
courtroom. The government should carry out rehabilitation and
compensation programs as a legal and political solution for the
riots," Rita told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
A joint ministerial meeting led by State Minister of the
Empowerment of Women Khofifah Indar Parawansa announced on
Thursday its decision to begin a new investigation into the
matter as past inquiries had not uncovered concrete evidence to
support claims of sexual violence.
She revealed that the inquiry could not find a single victim
or witness who saw the alleged mass rapes.
Khofifah asked the general public to cooperate, particularly
victims and witnesses, if the case was ever to be resolved. The
government also decided to draft a law for witness and victim
protection.
Rita seemed to reject the idea that the inquiry had not been
able to discover concrete evidence.
"The fact-finding team has already admitted the presence of
various violence, including sexual abuse, during the three-day
outbreak so what's the point of collecting the testimony again?"
she said.
Rita argued that the most important thing now is to set up
legal instruments to prevent a recurrence of such violence.
"If the government is really concerned about the case, they
should open a registration for those who suffered from the riot,"
she said, citing that during the riot many innocent people died
and lost their home.
Separately, female activist Tini Hadad said she supported the
reopening of the investigation, stressing that a legal closure
should prevail by naming people responsible for the violence.
"The case should be unraveled legally and the guilty parties
should be brought to justice," Tini said.
She noted that such a thorough investigation, like the one
being conducted on human rights abuses in East Timor, should also
be undertaken in the May riot case.
Tini stressed the importance of legal action to settle the
case once and for all.
"If there are victims then the guilty one should be brought to
justice," she argued.
When asked, Tini also fired back at Rita's suggestion that it
was more important to provide a rehabilitation and compensation
program.
"How can you offer rehabilitation and compensation without
first knowing who the victims are," she said. (04)