TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Victim protection body calls for urgent aid for terrorism survivors
Change Size
Stronger protection -- Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) chairman Abdul Haris Semendawai leaves the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in Jakarta after a meeting with the antigraft body’s commissioners on Nov.3. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A)
T
he Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) has called on the government to do more to protect survivors of terrorist attacks in Indonesia, saying that many of them are struggling to access social and medical services to have their long-term injuries treated.
The agency also says that a lack of financial support from the state has often forced terrorism victims to seek private funders, which mostly provide only short-term remedies.
LPSK chairman Abdul Haris Semendawai said although compensation would not necessarily end the suffering of victims, it was still important for the government to give such support to show that the state was present and ready to take efforts to improve the lives of all survivors.
“It is the state’s responsibility to take care of the people, including victims of terrorism,” Abdul said. “Giving compensation is a way to provide attention to those who have fallen victim to terrorist attacks”.
Abdul further explained that as a state institution with a mandate to serve witnesses and victims of violence, the LPSK could only provide limited support to the victims of the terrorist attack near a shopping mall on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta in January. This was because the institution must share its budget with survivors of other kinds of violence.
Its limited budget has forced the LPSK to impose strict eligibility requirements on victims asking for support, which has often discouraged survivors from seeking help, Abdul said.
The House of Representatives is deliberating a draft revision of the 2003 Terrorism Law, which is expected to include several provisions on state financial support for victims of terrorism. (ebf)
