The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about a paper on “Prospect and Problem of the Transitional Justice in Indonesia after 32 years Political Injustice under the Soeharto Regime.” The paper is written by Chris Biantoro, a human rights lawyer and Indonesia desk officer at the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Hong Kong. For further reading of the paper available here
This paper will examine the problems and the prospects of transitional justice in Indonesia from both the retributive justice and restorative justice perspectives. This paper will also examine the principles in both system of justice which may be useful in the development of standard of justice in Indonesia to solve the past abuses. This paper will argue that the failure of thirteen years of transitional justice in Indonesia due to neglect, impunity and lack of action on the part of the transitional governments added to the suffering of the victims and their families.
However, all is not lost. This paper will also suggest that if the current Indonesian government is willing to pursue justice, the principles of restorative and retributive of justice will be useful guides in the setting up of a standard of justice in the country to deal with mass human rights violations in the past. The two theories can complement each other together with the current mechanisms of justice like the national human rights court. The principles from the two theories of justice is also in consonance with the reconciliation processes in Indonesia which is needed to attain a just and lasting peace in the country.
