Time for Jokowi to
resolve past human rights abuse cases
Asvi Warman Adam ; A visiting research scholar at CSEAS, Kyoto
University, Japan
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JAKARTA
POST, 10 Desember 2014
Before he was elected president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo introduced his
vision and mission statements and a supporting nine-priority agenda,
Nawacita. The fourth program on the agenda, law enforcement, sets a priority
on the “protection of human rights and fair settlement of past cases of human
rights violations”. Evidently, a minister with a lack of care about finding
ways to deal with past issues has not read the Nawacita.
Of all violations of human rights in the history of Indonesia recorded
between 1945 and 2000, the one that gets the most attention is the mass
killings of 1965, where 500,000 people were murdered. The Dutch, during their
350-year existence in the archipelago, killed 125,000 locals, 75,000 of them
in Aceh — a total much less than the number of Indonesians slaughtered by
their compatriots. The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has
prepared a pro-justicia inquiry on the 1965 gross crimes against humanity,
and the Attorney General’s Office should seriously follow up on the findings
to ensure that the Nawacita programs run.
Cases related to the 1965 events have remained unresolved with neither
comprehensive, nor just settlements initiated and in place.
For the near future, there are several initiatives the President may
consider taking, including issuing a state apology for the mistakes committed
by the state and responding to the Supreme Court’s ruling.
First, the President should apologize to thousands of Indonesian
patriots whose citizenship had been stripped following the Sept. 30, 1965
coup attempt blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In the 1960s,
president Sukarno sent thousands of Mahid, an acronym for state-funded
students with mandatory term of service after graduation, to study abroad to
help promote the development of science and technology.
Accused of supporting Sukarno, these students had their passports
revoked and as a result lost their citizenship. Although most of them had
changed nationality, they would still enthusiastically celebrate Indonesian
Independence Day at Indonesian embassies by, among others, reading of the
Pancasila. The majority of them were born 75 years ago, some earlier, and
many have passed away.
Second, it is advisable that the President issue a formal statement on
behalf of the state saying that in the past, the government mistakenly sent
more than 10,000 people to the Buru Island in Maluku to live in exile for 10
years (from 1969 until 1979) for their link to the communists. Without trial,
they were forcibly sent to work at a concentration camp, not knowing when
they would be released. It was the protests by international organizations
that forced the government to end this crime against humanity.
Third, the President should apologize to the children of those who had
fallen victim to any of the 1965 events. Under an instruction issued in 1981
by the then home minister, they were not allowed to apply for a position at
any government organization or in the armed forces.
Whether or not their parents were guilty of involvement in the coup
attempt, the government has absolutely no right to bar these individuals from
applying for certain jobs because the 1945 Constitution guarantees everyone
equal employment opportunities.
Fourth, the President will need to respond to the relief to a claim
granted in 2011 by the Supreme Court.
Following inquiries and proceedings of a judicial review of
Presidential Decree No. 28/1975, dated June 25, 1975, regarding the treatment
of persons grouped under Class C involved in the Sept. 30, 1965 alleged PKI
coup, the Supreme Court ruled in its verdict No. 3P/HUM/2011 that the
reviewed presidential decree and all subordinate legal instruments run
counter to higher legislation.
The Supreme Court therefore “orders the President of the Republic of
Indonesia to revoke Presidential Decree No. 28/1975”.
The era of reform managed to give birth to Truth and Reconciliation
(KKR) in 2004, but half-hearted then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono never
approved the list of KKR member candidates submitted by the selection
committee for further election by the House of Representatives. The
Constitutional Court chaired by Jimly Asshiddiqie later cancelled the KKR
Law. A replacement bill has never been delivered by the government to the
House.
Along with an ad-hoc human rights court, the KKR plays a key role in comprehensively
resolving cases of human rights violations committed in the past. A
breakthrough is needed: establishing a truth and reconciliation commission
through a presidential decree rather then a law to have it operational in a
shorter time. The resulting body will take the form of a state commission set
up by the President with a limited number of personnel serving for a short
period of time, say two years.
Hopefully this article can help President Jokowi find a breakthrough to
properly solve past human rights violations envisioned in his Nawacita
agenda. With permanent and full resolutions, the people of this nation will
be able to, after waiting almost 50 years, move on without a burden. ●
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