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)