Amnesty Calls for Strengthening of Aceh Truth and Reconciliation Bylaw
Rebel members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) hold a drill at Lhok Juk village, in the East Aceh subdistrict of Peudawa, on May 17, 2004. (AFP Photo)
Amnesty International has praised the Aceh parliament for passing a bylaw in December to establish a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the abuses that took place during 30 years of conflict between Acehnese rebels and the Indonesian military, but emphasized that more needed to be done before the process could begin in earnest.
"The establishment of truth commissions is an important step toward understanding the circumstances that led to past violations, learning from the past to ensure that such crimes will not be committed again, and ensuring that shared experiences are acknowledged and preserved," Amnesty said.
The Aceh House of Representatives passed the bylaw on Dec. 27, 2013. It has since been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs, where it will wait for approval.
The establishment of the commission forms part of the 2005 Helsinki peace deal and the 2006 Law on Governing Aceh to end the conflict — between the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian military — which began in 1976, at a cost of between 10,000 and 30,000 lives.
"Addressing these past crimes would not only contribute to healing the open wounds of the civilian population, it would also help strengthen the rule of law in the country which can help secure the peace process in the long term," Amnesty said.
"However some provisions in the bylaw fall short of international law and standards and should be strengthened to ensure that the truth commission operates effectively."
The organization said the definition of human-rights abuses should be expanded beyond those defined in the 1999 Indonesian Law on Human Rights to include all violations set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other treaties that Indonesia has ratified.
In a recent interview with the Jakarta Globe, Samsul Bahri, a spokesman for a victims group in North Aceh, said he expected the bylaw to provide answers to victims and their families.
"The victims of the conflict demand justice for what has happened to their families, such as why their father was killed, and why their brother was kidnapped," Samsul said. "We also want better welfare, as mentioned in the peace pact between the government and GAM. The conflict victims need business capital to live decently and for the education of our kids."
Murdiah, a house wife from a village in North Aceh suburb, said she wanted the commission to uncover what had happened to her husband, who was reportedly kidnapped by the soldiers in 1990.
"I was two months pregnant when it happened," she said. "I have five kids, and they often ask where their father is. If he has died, I hope we can be told where he is buried so we can go there. I also want to know what mistake my husband, my brother and my father made that meant they could be kidnapped …
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