Pardon sought from rights abuse victims

Pardon sought from rights abuse victims

JAKARTA (JP): Although their plight has been difficult,
victims of human rights abuses have been asked to forgive and
forget and to encourage a more just and fairer government system,
religious figures said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a seminar titled "Solutions for Human Rights Abuse
Cases; Between Truth and Justice", Muslim scholar Komaruddin
Hidayat and Catholic scholar J. Banawiratma said creating a just
and fair system should top the priority list in order to avoid
human rights violations in the future.

"To forgive and forget is also good therapy for the victims
who may have problems sleeping and leading a normal life because
of their traumatic experiences," Komaruddin, who is a lecturer at
the Jakarta-based Syarif Hidayatullah state Islamic Institute,
said.

He said punishing human rights perpetrators might relieve the
victims' pain but it was less meaningful if the system did not
improve.

"A just and fair state without religions is better than an
unjust state which acknowledges religions," he said during the
seminar, which was held by the Institute for Study and Social
Advocacy (Elsam).

Another speaker, Banawiratma of the Yogyakarta-based St.
Ignatius Institute of Theology, supported Komaruddin's views,
saying that forgiveness and love were important while justice had
yet to be reached.

"But forgiveness should come from the victims. It cannot be
forced or engineered," he said.

He suggested that victims testify before the planned truth and
reconciliation commission about their suffering.

Meanwhile, Elsam chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said
that reconciliation could not materialize if the truth remains
hidden.

He said the commission deals with human rights abuse cases
which were difficult to bring to justice because of technical
reasons, such as a lack of evidence.

Elsam and some non-governmental organizations had earlier
proposed a bill for a truth and reconciliation commission to the
Ministry of Law and Legislation.

During his visit to South Africa on Saturday, President
Abdurrahman Wahid discussed the possibility of establishing the
South African-modeled commission in Indonesia with his
counterpart President Thabo Mbeki.

Mbeki said his government was ready to assist Jakarta. (jun)