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Scene: Kontras: Rawagede ruling a lesson to learn
JAKARTA: Rights activists have lauded the Dutch Civil Court ruling in favor of victims of the 1947 massacre in Rawagede village, east of Jakarta, that found the Dutch government guilty and ordered it to pay compensation to the victims’ families
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AKARTA: Rights activists have lauded the Dutch Civil Court ruling in favor of victims of the 1947 massacre in Rawagede village, east of Jakarta, that found the Dutch government guilty and ordered it to pay compensation to the victims’ families.
The activists said the ruling was an important lesson for the future struggles for compensation by victims of violence and their families.
“The ruling [...] carries several important lessons,” Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar said in a press statement sent to The Jakarta Post.
Among these, one of the lessons to learn was that human rights violations have no expiry date, even if they occurred a long ago, he said.
“The Dutch Court has recognized that severe human rights violations don’t expire as long as justice for the victims has not been fulfilled,” Haris said.
In 2005, eleven widows of Rawagede victims filed a lawsuit against the Dutch government at the Dutch Civil Court in the Hague. The legal process continued until Sept. 14 this year when the court found the Dutch government guilty. (/rpt)
