'Proposal for compensation does not equal justice'

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Legal and human rights activists have warned Aceh authorities against using proposed compensation for victims of human abuses and their families as an excuse to avoid rights abuse trials in the restive province.

"The trials must go on," said Jufri Zainuddin, chairman of the Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Abuses (SPKP) here on Thursday.

He said all relatives of the victims expected a fair trial of those allegedly involved in human rights abuses.

Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Aceh chapter chairman Rufriadi accused the government of trying to close the mouths of victims's relatives, saying besides a fair trial, the relatives also needed financial aid to support their lives.

"The victims do need food, but bringing those involved in human rights abuses to court is more important," Rufriadi said.

Both Jufri and Rufriadi were commenting on an Aceh provincial administration proposal to provide Rp 50 million (US$5,300) in compensation to the families of those murdered in the conflict- ravaged province.

Deputy governor of Aceh Azwar Abubakar recently said Rp 500,000 could be paid per month over a period of 100 months to the families. He said his office would seek approval from the provincial legislative council.

Azwar said the proposal was conceived during a seminar on the development of a new Aceh last December and after obtaining input from religious leaders.

The provincial administration eventually called on regents and mayors throughout Aceh to identify the casualties.

Records shows that as of Sept. 2002, the number of casualties reported from the regions had reached 4,375 people. Due to limited finances, the families of only 3,400 victims had received Rp 3 million in compensation.

Jufri hailed the proposal, saying the government had paid more attention to the victims of violence. He added the compensation was recognition of the violence in the resource-rich province.

"The victims need money to sustain their lives, but it does not satisfy them. They need justice."

Jufri said the compensation they got from the government would not rehabilitate their name. The security forces often suspect them of provoking violence. Therefore, there must be a fair trial to rehabilitate their names.

Meanwhile, the Aceh provincial administration had collected the names of the families of 4,390 victims to get compensation. It had allocated Rp 10.2 billion in the first package. Each family will receive Rp 3 million.

This is different from an earlier promise from Azwar that each family would receive Rp 50 million.

Azwar said the payment of compensation was an Islamic approach to resolving conflict in Aceh. He added he hoped the compensation would relieve the burden of the surviving family members, mainly women whose husbands were murdered.

"Referring to the Islamic law, the conflict will have finished after the victims receives diyat (compensation)," he said, adding that diyat could eliminate revenge by those victims.

Azwar said the Aceh provincial administration would propose paying Rp 50 million compensation to the family of each of the victims.

With a high regional budget, he said, he believed there was no reason for the administration not to pay the compensation.

Since armed conflict erupted in Aceh, the number of casualties is estimated to have cost nearly 10,000 lives. Some 11,000 houses have been burned down. Children lost their parents and have no access to education.

The compensation could be given to people in the form of cultivated land and money to start a small business, he added.