'Proposal for compensation does not equal justice'

'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.