T

he House of Representatives* Commission III on Law and Human Rights has pledged to push the government for greater action into addressing alleged human rights violations committed prior to the fall of the New Order regime in May 1998.

Deputy chairman of the commission, Suripto, said lawmakers would regroup to discuss political moves to pressure the government to launch a formal investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity.

"We will issue a recommendation which should force the Attorney General's Office (AGO) into launching an investigation as soon as possible. If they fail to heed our demand, we will exercise our right to summon the President himself to clarify the delays against investigating those responsible," Suripto told a hearing with activists from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Tuesday.

Kontras executive Yati Andriyani said she hoped the matter was settled before the current House ends its term on Sept. 30.

"The Commission III has issued many recommendations regarding the issue, but the House's consultative body has always annulled the recommendations," she said after the hearing.

The House's consultative body is split over whether to resume an investigation into the violence, with six factions voting against the move and four voting for it.

A number of family members of the victims from the May 1998 riots attended the hearing. They called on eligible voters to boycott presidential and vice presidential candidates implicated in past atrocities.

Yati dismissed speculation that Kontras and rights activists were campaigning against certain individuals in order to boost the profile of other candidates running for the presidency.

"Our stance is simply based on our deep concern for the families of the victims," she said.

In the period of violent riots and social chaos that preceded the fall of President Soeharto in 1998, many people were subjected to horrific attacks, abducted or simply killed. Their families have continued to fight for justice ever since.

Following an investigation, the National Commission on Human Rights declared the incidents, which included murder and gang rapes, gross human rights violations. The rights body has also recommended that the Attorney General's Office launch an investigation into the cases.

Both the government and the House of Representatives have never acknowledged the notoriously violent incidents as crimes against humanity, let alone establish an ad hoc human rights tribunal to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice.

Recently the House formed a special committee of inquiry into the involuntary disappearance of government critics between 1997 and 1998. The committee, however, failed to summon the military generals who were in charge at the time, namely Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto.