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Mixed response as Jokowi launches reparations program
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President Joko “Jokowi”Widodo (left) speaks with vistims of the 1965 atrocities Jaroni Surjomartono (center) and Sudaryanto Priyono during the launch of government’s non-judicial settlement of 12 past human rights violations at Geudong Hosue in Pidie regency, Aceh on June 27, 2023. (Antara/Khalis Surry)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo sought on Tuesday to make good on a long-standing campaign promise, launching a program to compensate victims of past gross human rights violations while keeping the door open to legal recourse.
The nonjudicial settlement program offers reparations and state-sanctioned benefits to those who suffered in 12 officially recognized historic cases of serious human rights abuses that occurred mostly during the dictatorship years.
It had taken the Jokowi administration more than nine years to finally address Indonesia’s gloomy past, partly due to difficulties in vetting incidents from decades ago.
Reservations by the Indonesian Military (TNI), whose members are allegedly among the perpetrators, had also kept any legal efforts from progressing, despite constant criticism.
Speaking during the launch ceremony in Pidie, Aceh province, the President insisted that in-court settlement and nonjudicial means could go hand in hand, noting however that the current method was the most convenient way to resolve serious rights violations.
Earlier this year, Jokowi acknowledged and expressed regret over 12 major incidents of violence and repression in the country between 1965 and 2003 that amounted to gross human rights violations.
The incidents include the communist purge of 1965-66, the Semanggi I and related Semanggi II tragedies that led to the fall of the New Order, the Jambu Keupok tragedy, the Simpang KAA tragedy and killings and torture that occurred in Rumoh Geudong in Aceh.
