Resolving the riots: Is it possible?

JAKARTA (JP): It has been three years since the May riots caused Indonesia to plunge into its darkest hours of destruction but, legally, the case still remains unsolved, leaving many people in doubt as to whether the issue actually can be settled.

Munir, Chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said that reconciling the incidents of widespread violence had too many obstacles needing to be overcome.

The first problem, he said, is that there is an issue of religion and ethnicity.

The main targets of violence during the riots were Chinese Indonesians.

"The second obstacle is that the incidents included military rivalries as well as political," he told The Jakarta Post by telephone over the weekend.

Finally, Munir said, the unrest was the result of a political conspiracy.

"It was created either to urge former president Soeharto to step down, or maybe it was Soeharto's idea to make this country unstable. Then, afterwards, the incident was not considered important anymore," he said.

"It just showed how expensive the path to democracy is," he added.

The riots occurred several days before Soeharto stepped down from the presidency, and was provoked by the shooting of students at Trisakti University.

The riots erupted in Jakarta, Surakarta, Central Java, Medan, North Sumatra and several other places.

Munir asserted that, similar to other human rights violation cases, the May riots remain confusing in terms of the mechanisms used to incite the rioting and who holds ultimate responsibility.

"Therefore, I'm still pessimistic that this case can be solved. Sure, ideally, there should be accountability and rehabilitation for victims. But in reality, it is very hard to realize," he said.

However, he added, the political elite should not justify such practices of sacrificing people in the name of democracy.

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) chairman Albert Hasibuan, meanwhile, was more optimistic, saying that the House of Representatives should recommend that the government form an ad hoc human rights court to try rights abuses related to the riots.

"After that, we can establish the Commission of Inquiry Into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM)," he told the Post.

Albert said that the case had been left unsolved for too long.

"We have to set a target for its completion -- by the end of this year at the latest," he added.

He also asserted that the government should learn from a similar rights abuse case, the 1984 Tanjung Priok incident.

Albert said that Komnas HAM has submitted recommendation letters to the House.

"The most recent was last March. We informed in the letter that there were severe human rights violations during the riots," he said.

Similar to Albert, University of Indonesia legal expert Harkristuti Harkrisnowo said that there was still something that could be done with the case.

"Victims of the violence should provide information about what really happened to them," she said.

"This case can still be processed, especially considering that it has not expired under the statute of limitations, as stipulated in Article 78 of the Criminal Code," Harkristuti said.

The Code states that the limitation for prosecution in relation to such a crime is at least six years.

However, many of the victims prefer to remain silent.

"I have a friend whose house was looted during the incident. And another friend who was sexually assaulted -- she now lives in Singapore. But what's the use of talking about it?" a Chinese Indonesian woman said.

"We never discuss it anymore. At least those victims now have their lives back, even though they may not be the same as they used to. Talking about the issue will only make them suffer more. And even if they talk, it is of no use," she said, reflecting the widespread skepticism that the case could ever be legally solved. (hdn)