Rights activists slam team to probe Maluku conflict
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Ambon
Skepticism loomed on Friday over the neutrality and capability of the newly established team to investigate human rights abuses in Maluku because it is run by the government, human rights activists said on Friday.
Asmara Nababan, secretary-general of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), expressed concern on Friday that the team would meet a similar fate with the government-backed investigation team to probe the murder of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay.
"The team to investigate Theys' case failed to obtain public trust as there was no clear mechanism or transparent public report. Learning from that, the government should first consult conflicting communities in Maluku before appointing members of the team," Asmara told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
"Should the public have any doubts about members of the team, the government should be ready to replace them," he added.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued Decree No. 38 on June 6, establishing an independent team to investigate human rights violations in conflict-stricken Maluku as stipulated in the government-initiated Malino II peace deal signed on Feb. 12.
The team comprises 14 people of various backgrounds -- such as government officials, religious figures and politicians -- and is led by Deputy to the Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Maj. Gen. (ret) I Wayan Karya, with Komnas HAM member Bambang W. Suharto as his deputy.
Bambang led a Komnas HAM fact-finding team on the Maluku conflict in 2001, but nothing came out of the investigation.
The team is assigned to probe at least nine major cases, including the clash between a resident and a public transport driver on Jan. 19, 1999 which triggered prolonged conflict between the Christian and Muslim communities.
It will focus on the separatist movement which has been led by groups linked to the South Maluku Republic, the presence of the Muslim extremist group Laskar Jihad and their Christian rivals Laskar Kristus, as well as reports of human rights abuse, including alleged forced conversion in Maluku.
According to Ori Rachman, coordinator of the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the team should instead focus on why the incident sparked widespread sectarian conflict, and on whether the presence of the security personnel there has worsened the clashes.
"The presence of the separatist movement or militia groups is merely the public's reaction to the government's inability to meet the public's needs and to control the military and police there, because most of the conflicts are related to competition between the security forces," he told the Post.
Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare Jusuf Kalla, the author of the Malino peace agreement, said the team was given six months to complete the task, but its members could not start working until Megawati installs them.
Jusuf also said the team has no legal authority and should report their findings directly to the President.
"If they discover any violations of the law then the judicial apparatus will follow up the findings," Jusuf told reporters.
He added the decision to pick a Balinese as the leader of the team was to ensure an impartial investigation.
"It is part of the Malino agreement that the team members are not Ambonese and that the team is led by people of a different religion to the warring communities."
Separately in Ambon, representatives of both warring groups who had signed the peace deal urged the team to start working, saying the team was a supporting factor for the promotion of law and order which was the key to ending the Maluku conflict.