The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Ambon
Skepticism loomed on Friday over the neutrality and capability
of the newly established team to investigate human rights abuses
in Maluku because it is run by the government, human rights
activists said on Friday.
Asmara Nababan, secretary-general of the National Commission on
Human Rights (Komnas HAM), expressed concern on Friday that the
team would meet a similar fate with the government-backed
investigation team to probe the murder of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo
Eluay.
"The team to investigate Theys' case failed to obtain
public trust as there was no clear mechanism or transparent public
report. Learning from that, the government should first consult
conflicting communities in Maluku before appointing members of the
team," Asmara told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
"Should the public have any doubts about members of the
team, the government should be ready to replace them," he
added.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued Decree No. 38 on June
6, establishing an independent team to investigate human rights
violations in conflict-stricken Maluku as stipulated in the
government-initiated Malino II peace deal signed on Feb. 12.
The team comprises 14 people of various backgrounds -- such as
government officials, religious figures and politicians -- and is
led by Deputy to the Coordinating Minister for Security and
Political Affairs Maj. Gen. (ret) I Wayan Karya, with Komnas HAM
member Bambang W. Suharto as his deputy.
Bambang led a Komnas HAM fact-finding team on the Maluku
conflict in 2001, but nothing came out of the investigation.
The team is assigned to probe at least nine major cases,
including the clash between a resident and a public transport
driver on Jan. 19, 1999 which triggered prolonged conflict between
the Christian and Muslim communities.
It will focus on the separatist movement which has been led by
groups linked to the South Maluku Republic, the presence of the
Muslim extremist group Laskar Jihad and their Christian rivals
Laskar Kristus, as well as reports of human rights abuse,
including alleged forced conversion in Maluku.
According to Ori Rachman, coordinator of the Commission on
Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the team should
instead focus on why the incident sparked widespread sectarian
conflict, and on whether the presence of the security personnel
there has worsened the clashes.
"The presence of the separatist movement or militia groups
is merely the public's reaction to the government's inability to
meet the public's needs and to control the military and police
there, because most of the conflicts are related to competition
between the security forces," he told the Post.
Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare Jusuf Kalla, the
author of the Malino peace agreement, said the team was given six
months to complete the task, but its members could not start
working until Megawati installs them.
Jusuf also said the team has no legal authority and should
report their findings directly to the President.
"If they discover any violations of the law then the
judicial apparatus will follow up the findings," Jusuf told
reporters.
He added the decision to pick a Balinese as the leader of the
team was to ensure an impartial investigation.
"It is part of the Malino agreement that the team members
are not Ambonese and that the team is led by people of a different
religion to the warring communities."
Separately in Ambon, representatives of both warring groups who
had signed the peace deal urged the team to start working, saying
the team was a supporting factor for the promotion of law and
order which was the key to ending the Maluku conflict.