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Activist slams ministers for rebuffing 1965 massacre tribunal
Jakarta Post - November 11, 2015
Hendardi, the chairman of human right advocacy group Setara Institute, said on Wednesday that the statements made by Attorney General HM Prasetyo and Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacude showed poor judgment. "Their statements really demonstrated [the approach] they both take, which is suppressing the truth," he said in a statement to thejakartapost.com.
"They are both the enemies of humanity because they don't take the side of the truth."
Prasetyo said on Tuesday that the government refused to acknowledge the International People's Tribunal 1965, held from Nov. 10 to 13 in The Hague, the Netherlands. He said that past human rights abuses were Indonesia's own problem that the government aimed to resolve other parties' involvement.
Ryamizard also criticized the Netherlands as the venue for the tribunal and urged everyone not to look back and refer to past human rights violations.
Human rights activists initiated the tribunal to help disclose the military action believed to have killed up to 1 million people in 1965 and 1966, orchestrated by the government.
Hendardi also said that domestic and foreign initiatives to bring the truth to light would keep coming if the government was reluctant to do so itself.
"Human rights violations are a universal concern. Don't be so narrow minded – refusing to resolve the issues and getting annoyed when others try to reveal the truth," he said.
He also urged President Jokowi to use the momentum for a second cabinet reshuffle, which has been rising over the past month, to dismiss ministers that hampered the realization of his promises and visions.
Hendardi pointed out Prasetyo's lack of achievements or breakthroughs during his term so far and highlighted allegations made against Prasetyo's fellow NasDem Party politician Patrice Rio Capella, a bribery suspect.
He also slammed Ryamizard, who he considers to be staunchly opposed to military reform.
According to the official website of the International People's Tribunal 1965, 1965tribunal.org, the tribunal is not a criminal court and its findings are not legally binding.
The tribunal hopes, however, that its outcomes can lead to better government policies around resolving the issue.
"It will help push the state to [show accountability to] victims and their families, and to the Indonesian society as a whole," the tribunal website states.(rin)
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