Indonesia court knocks down truth commission bill
Source: Reuters
By Achmad Sukarsono JAKARTA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A law to establish a truth and reconciliation commission in Indonesia has been struck down by country's constitutional court, a move likely to mean a setback for victims looking for a swift closure over rights abuses. Earlier this year, an alliance of human rights groups filed a challenge against three articles in the 2004 bill that set up the body, arguing they could give human rights violators leeway and hurt compensation rights for victims. But eight of the nine-judge panel at the Constitutional Court agreed on Thursday to cancel the legislation altogether, arguing the act was full of legal flaws, the court said on its Web Site. Many rights violations in Indonesia, including those during army operations in the once-rebellious Aceh province, were linked to government forces during the 32-year authoritarian regime of President Suharto and have failed to reach resolution. Suharto resigned in 1998 amid social chaos and mass protests. Before the ruling, the truth and reconciliation commission was going through a member selection stage. The commission is aimed at allowing cases such as political abductions and army-involved massacres to be publicly heard without assigning blame. The court's Web site said the panel ruled that the disputed provisions "contradicted the 1945 Constitution." "However, because the TRC law depends on these articles therefore the legal implication is that it would cause all articles related to amnesty devoid of legal binding powers. Thus, the entire set of regulations in the TRC law become impossible to be carried out," it said. The bill was passed by parliament in September 2004 a month before President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono came to power and after years of tug-of-war between reformist politicians and the parliament's Suharto-linked old guard. The ruling means it would take years for those who suffered from brutal government operations in the past. But some rights activists were not opposed to the ruling because they said the commission as it was envisaged could have meant that atrocities were white washed. "Victims clearly are disappointed because their search for justice met a setback. But this bill did not side with the victims from start," said Indria Fernida, operational head of human rights group, Kontras, which was among the plaintiffs. "What is important now is that the commission will not be a political tool of certain parties. We should now force the government to immediately uncover those past human rights abuses," she told Reuters. It is unclear what the implications might be for a plan to set up a similar body in Aceh, which under a 2005 peace pact between the Indonesian government and rebels should work under the national truth and reconciliation commission. That agreement was a key point that paved way for the signing for the truce, which so far has stopped the violence that has plagued the area since a separatist insurgency started in 1976. (Additional reporting by Telly Nathalia)
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