August 18, 2015 | by Martha Meijer
Severe and massive human rights violations have occurred in
Indonesia, with a peak in the years 1965-1966, but also in many years
after that. Those responsible for the thousands of killings,
torture, disappearances and forced labour have never been prosecuted or
punished. This impunity in Indonesia is a continuing suffering for the
victims and their relatives, and a threat to the rule of law, because it
facilitates perpetrators to feel above the law and it may strengthen
possible perpetrators in carrying out their abuses. This paper analyses
the opportunities to break the cycle of impunity based on existing legal
mechanisms – both Indonesian and international. It points to
possibilities to realize the rights to the truth, to justice and
rehabilitation, in the context of the initiative of the International
People’s Tribunal 1965 (IPT) which was started in 2014, in an effort to
come to terms with the events of 1965 and the years after.
In 1965 an alleged human rights violations have taken place. None of
these violations have been prosecuted; on the contrary, victims and
survivors have been subject to intimidation and discrimination until
today. Perpetrators are being held in high esteem or are still
considered heroes.
The internationally agreed concept of impunity offers opportunities
to start a process to deal with the past. Still, the initiative has to
come from within Indonesia. In 2014 and 2015 the documentary films “The
Act of Killing” and “The Look of Silence” broke the taboo around the
1965 human rights violations.
Legal instruments can now be used to try
and cope with the accumulation of emotions and fears within Indonesian
society. Therefore the analysis of legal and internationally agreed
ways to approach the struggle against impunity is a tool to start a
discussion about the violations, the victims and the perpetrators, the
reasons for impunity and the consequences.
This paper tries to present an analysis of international and
Indonesian legal mechanisms in support of the struggle against impunity,
considers possible obstacles and ways to address these and
draws conclusions that hopefully can contribute to the effort by the
International People’s Tribunal 1965 in dealing with the past.
http://1965tribunal.org/impunity-in-indonesia-50-years-of-injustice/
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