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Resolving past rights cases within a year impossible: Komnas HAM
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A nun looks at photographs of victims of past human rights abuses in front of the State Palace on Thursday during a weekly rally that is locally known as Kamisan. Thursday’s rally was the 417th since 2007, demanding that the government resolve the cases. (JP/Seto Wardhana )
T
he National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has voiced pessimism that the government will be able to solve six pass human rights abuse cases within a year because the work would include revealing the truth as well as reconciliation.
“It would be impossible to resolve all six cases within just one, two or even three years,” Komnas HAM commissioner Dianto Bachriadi said, adding that revealing the truth required time and should include reconciliation.
Revealing the truth should be facilitated by the state, he added.
Dianto was commenting on a statement by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who said the government would solve six human rights abuse cases, namely those on the 1965 communist purge; the 1989 Talangsari, Lampung, massacre; the Trisakti, Semanggi I and II shootings; and the 1998 disappearance of prodemocracy activists.
He questioned whether the government could resolve pass human rights cases and provide justice to the victims of rights abuses in such a short time.
Problems faced by government include a lack of legal basis on the non-judicial mechanism, he added.
“The only non-judicial mechanism mandated by law is reconciliation through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission [KKR] as stipulated in the Human Rights Trials Law. But the Constitutional Court has repealed the law,” said Dianto.
The rights body questioned the ability of the government to check data and facts from hundreds of thousands of victims across the country in such a limited time.
On top of that, people alleged to be involved in past human rights are still running the country, said Dianto. “They could be a hindrance to revealing the truth,” he said. (vps/bbn)
