Indon: Draft law on rights court attacked for not being retroactive Fri, 4 Feb 2000 08:29:57 -0500 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit surce - TAPOL Kompas, 24 January 2000 All the investigations that have been undertaken by the commission of inquiry on human rights abuses in E Timor (KPP HAM) will be totally wasted if the law on the human rights court, a draft of which is to be placed before parliament soon is not retroactive,. This will open the way for the international community to set up an international tribunal. These opinions were expressed by Munir, member of the KPP HAM, and Ifdhal Kasim of Elsam, Institute for Social Study and Advocacy. 'The idea of taking these cases to a truth commission is ludicrous,' said Munir, and ignores the epxeriences of the Yugoslav and Rwanda tribunals which are both retroactive. As reported earlier, the draft law stipulates that grave abuses which occurred before the law comes into force will be taken to a truth and reconciliation commission. Munir said that, whereas he had been present at two earlier discussions about the draft; the draft was amended to include article 32 about non-retroactivity in subsequent meetings and Asmara Nababan, secretary of the KPP HAM knows nothing about how this change was made. Munir said that when the draft was discussed in November in Bogor, it included an article making it retroactive for 15 years. Munir and Ifdhal said that with the draft law as it stands, the investigations of the KPP HAM will come to nothing. 'If this leads to the setting up of an international tribunal, they will be the ones to blame,' said Munir. Ifdhal said the international community would regard Indonesia as having been tardy. 'This law will greatly complicate matters,' he said. Both men agreed that a truth commission should not be intended to handle human rights cases that can be taken to the courts. 'Its purpose would be to hear abuses that go well into the past, over a period of say 30 years, said Ifdhal. Its aim would be to deal with cases that can longer be taken to a law court. Munir said that violations in E Timor could not be taken to a truth and reconciliation commission because this has nothing to do with reconciliation. 'Reconciliation with who?' he asked. Such a commission is more a part of politics that the law, he said. According to Munir, the inclusion of article 32 closing the door to retroactivity smacks of the work of certain political interests eager to prevent the courts from handling abuses in East Timor. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign 111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 8HW, UK Phone: 0181 771-2904 Fax: 0181 653-0322 email: tapol@gn.apc.org Internet: www.gn.apc.org/tapol Campaigning to expose human rights violations in Indonesia, East Timor, West Papua and Aceh 26 years - and still going strong ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytpac-02.04.00-08:29:54-367