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Clemency, amnesty: Piecemeal solutions
The sexual violence bill (RUU PKS) has been criticized for being proadultery. That’s what Maimon Herawati, Farah Qoonita and Zahra Maulidinah, three conservative Muslim women who set up petitions against the RUU PKS, claim. They assert that the bill makes it possible for sexual behaviors forbidden by religion (Islam) — casual sex, lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender sex, etc., to be accommodated.
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Standing up against sexual violence: Carrying black umbrellas, activists march on Jl. MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta, toward Aspiration Park near the Presidential Palace. The activists held a mass rally as part of this year’s global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign, during which they called on the government to immediately pass the sexual violence eradication bill into a law. (The Jakarta Post/Iqbal Yuwansyah)
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hat do a mother of three from West Nusa Tenggara and a Jakarta-based Canadian male expat have in common? Both worked in school, both were involved in sexual harassment cases, both were victims of absurdly unjust laws and a corrupt legal system and both could escape prolonged punishment by being granted amnesty and clemency by the President.
I am referring of course to Baiq Nuril, a former school administrative employee in Lombok, and Neil Bantleman, a former teacher from the Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS).
On Aug. 2, Nuril was granted amnesty by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo after gaining approval from the House of Representatives.
Bantleman was granted clemency on June 19 and since July is safely back in Canada with beloved wife Tracy who fought tirelessly for his release and stood faithfully by him throughout the ordeal.
I am more than delighted that these two innocent people were spared further injustice. But the only way they could get “justice” and their freedom had to be through presidential intervention. How many people can get that?
What do the cases of Nuril and Bantleman show us?
Nuril’s case shows that the state does not yet sufficiently protect women. Since 2014, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has declared a state of emergency with regard to violence against women in Indonesia.
