THE NATION:

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Editorial & Opinion 

      WHAT OTHERS SAY:
      Truth and reconciliation

      IT is now clear that so many injustices were
      committed during the 32 years of the New
      Order regime. Many of these atrocities only
      started to come to light after the resignation
      of president Surharto on May 21, as people
      broke free from their old fears of speaking
      out about their sufferings and started
      demanding some kind of restitution. 

      Some of these incidents were recent, such
      as the riots and gang rapes in May in
      Jakarta, the abduction and torture of
      political activists early in the year, and the
      shooting of protesters in Irian Jaya last
      month. 

      Some occurred several years ago, like the
      terror and killings in Aceh, the government's
      intervention in the PDI leadership conflict
      and the subsequent attack on the PDI
      headquarters in 1996, and the shooting
      incident in Dili in 1991. 

      Other incidents happened more than a
      decade ago, such as the Tanjung Priok riot
      in 1984. Then there is the re-emergence of
      dozens of old land conflicts, with people
      trying to reclaim property they say was
      snatched away from them by force. There
      are also the politically charged murder
      cases that remain unresolved, like that of
      East Java labour activist Marsinah and of
      Yogyakarta journalist Fuad Muhammad
      Safruddin. 

      The list is bound to grow as more and more
      people gather the strength to speak out and
      demand justice. It's only a matter of time
      before people who felt the brunt of the
      government's wrath for their links, direct or
      otherwise, to the outlawed communist
      movement in Indonesia begin to demand
      restitution. 

      Most of these people are speaking out not
      because they want to exact revenge. They
      are asking for justice. In the case of land
      conflicts, they want their land back. In other
      cases, they just want to learn the truth,
      which was concealed by the government. In
      the Tanjung Priok riot case, they want the
      authorities to pinpoint where the military
      buried their loved ones who went missing
      after a clash with soldiers on the fateful day
      in 1984. 

      To its credit, the government has
      responded positively to some of these
      demands. A multitude of fact-finding
      missions have been established, either by
      the House of Representatives, the
      government, the military, or the National
      Commission on Human Rights, to look into
      these allegations. Many non-governmental
      organisations have also launched their own
      inquiries. 

      As expected, there is resistance from
      within. Many of those who committed the
      atrocities are still alive and in positions of
      influence. They will resist any attempt to
      uncover these violations as far as it relates
      to their roles. This is slowing down the
      process of establishing the truth. The
      foot-dragging of the military investigation
      into the kidnapping of activists is a case in
      point. The government does not even have
      the political will to investigate claims that
      the previous administration engineered the
      ouster of Megawati Soekarnoputri from the
      PDI leadership in 1996. 

      The nation is slowly coming to terms with
      these painful truths of the injustices of the
      old New Order regime. Given the volume of
      work involved, this could hold back
      progress at a time when the nation needs
      to move forward and get out of the present
      crisis. How many more fact-finding
      commissions are we going to have? At the
      current rate with which past injustices are
      being revealed, we will we be perpetually
      forced to look back. Yet, sooner or later, the
      whole truth must be revealed, or else these
      cases will continue to haunt us each time
      we try to move forward. 

      In our search for truth, Indonesia could learn
      from the post-apartheid South Africa. The
      government of President Nelson Mandela
      established a truth and reconciliation
      commission to deal with the atrocities of
      the previous apartheid regime. The offer of
      reconciliation ensures that those who
      committed the atrocities will not face any
      retribution if they voluntarily come forward
      with information to help establish the truth.
      The commission can take its time in its
      work, and the government can get on with
      dealing with the economic and political
      crises without being perpetually burdened
      by the sins of the past administration. 

      This proposal may beg the question of
      whether the New Order regime was
      comparable to the racist apartheid regime
      in South Africa. In the absence of truth, who
      can say one way or another? A truth and
      reconciliation commission is probably just
      what we need to tell us how bad it has
      been. 

      The Jakarta Post 

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