The Ad-Hoc Human Rights Court (tribunal) for the Tanjung Priok case has been concluded. All suspects have been released. However, the Indonesian government has ignored the suffering of the families of the victims, of torture and disappearances.
Besides, one important fact has been ignored by the court. In the appeal court decision for Sutrisno Mascung et.al. (No. 01/Pid.HAM/Ad Hoc/2003/PN.Jkt.Pst), the panel of judges in the Central Jakarta Court on 20 August 2004, decided that the 13 victims and their families should receive compensation and restitution valued at Rupiah 1,015,500,000 (US$ 113,000). This decision is appropriate according to international human right legal mechanisms that mandate the government to provide compensation, rehabilitation, and restitution for all the losses and the suffering of the victims and their families.
Indonesia has recognized some international human right mechanisms regarding these matters. For instance, Basic Principles and Guidelines on The Right to A Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. This mechanism has been adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution No. 60/147 on 16 December 2005(C.H.R. Res.2005/35) No 33, 36, 41
Principle no. 17 states,
17. States shall, with respect to claims by victims, enforce domestic judgments for reparation against individuals or entities liable for the harm suffered and endeavor to enforce valid foreign legal judgments for reparation in accordance with domestic law and international legal obligations. To that end, States should provide under their domestic laws effective mechanisms for the enforcement of reparation judgments.
18. In accordance with domestic law and international law, and taking account of individual circumstances, victims of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law should, as appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the violation and the circumstances of each case, be provided with full and effective reparation, as laid out in principles 19 to 23, which include the following forms: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.
19. Restitution should, whenever possible, restore the victim to the original situation before the gross violations of international human rights law or serious violations of international humanitarian law occurred. Restitution includes, as appropriate: restoration of liberty, enjoyment of human rights, identity, family life and citizenship, return to one’s place of residence, restoration of employment and return of property.
20. Compensation should be provided for any economically assessable damage, as appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the violation and the circumstances of each case, resulting from gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law, such as:
(a) Physical or mental harm;
(b) Lost opportunities, including employment, education and social benefits;
(c) Material damages and loss of earnings, including loss of earning potential;
(d) Moral damage;
(e) Costs required for legal or expert assistance, medicine and medical services, and psychological and social services.
21. Rehabilitation should include medical and psychological care as well as legal and social services.
22. Satisfaction should include, where applicable, any or all of the following:
(a) Effective measures aimed at the cessation of continuing violations;
(b) Verification of the facts and full and public disclosure of the truth to the extent that such disclosure does not cause further harm or threaten the safety and interests of the victim, the victim’s relatives, witnesses, or persons who have intervened to assist the victim or prevent the occurrence of further violations;
(c) The search for the whereabouts of the disappeared, for the identities of the children abducted, and for the bodies of those killed, and assistance in the recovery, identification and reburial of the bodies in accordance with the expressed or presumed wish of the victims, or the cultural practices of the families and communities;
(d) An official declaration or a judicial decision restoring the dignity, the reputation and the rights of the victim and of persons closely connected with the victim;
(e) Public apology, including acknowledgement of the facts and acceptance of responsibility;
(f) Judicial and administrative sanctions against persons liable for the violations;
(g) Commemorations and tributes to the victims;
(h) Inclusion of an accurate account of the violations that occurred in international human rights law and international humanitarian law training and in educational material at all levels.
9. A person shall be considered a victim regardless of whether the perpetrator of the violation is identified, apprehended, prosecuted, or convicted and regardless of the familial relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.
We urge the Indonesian government not to neglect the suffering and the misery of the victims of the Tanjung Priok case. The Indonesian government should take urgent action to end the suffering of the victims and their families. The government should pay compensation as promised and the Central Jakarta Court should make a clear decision on how the government should fulfill its obligations.
Jakarta, 31 January 2007
The Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
Association of Victims and Family of Tanjung Priok Case (IKAPRI)
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
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