Though Jokowi as a presidential candidate in 2014 had promised to deal with the many human rights violations in the country’s modern history, only towards the end of his second term in office did he take any action. In 2022 he established a Commission to make recommendations in relation to past grave human rights violations in a non-judicial way (PPHAM).[1] A heavy team was composed, various ministries were involved, as well as prominent external members. The PPHAM was mandated to provide non-judicial solutions, to make recommendations to heal the victims and their families and to prevent such violations to happen again. The report points to the state as the major actor in the 12 events it investigated, including the crimes against humanity in 1965-6. No apology was offered. Though the report speaks of victims and crimes, there is no mention of perpetrators. The chain of command under which the violations were committed was not revealed and the individual state actors who tortured, killed, and profited from the labour and goods of the victims kept enjoying their impunity.
On January 11, 2023 the President acknowledged state responsibility for the 12 crimes against humanity committed and expressed his regret and empathy with the victims. He pledged to provide restitution for direct victims and their families, ‘without negating the judicial solution.’[2] He did not specify the kind of judicial solution he may have had in mind. Coordinating Minister of Politics and Human Rights, Mahfud MD, would supervise the process of the restoration of the rights of the victims. This minister focused on the restoration of the rights of the many exiles whose passports were revoked after 1965.
Among victims’ groups these developments were met with great relief. They were no longer blamed for the violence they experienced.[3] After 57 years of silence about their plight, and after suffering the stigma of being associated with the PKI they welcomed the President’s words.
On June 27, 2023 Jokowi visited the Rumah Geudong in Pidie, Aceh, a site where people were severely tortured, including sexual torture and some were killed between 1989 and 1998. It is one of the twelve cases listed by the PPHAM. The President assured he wanted to ‘heal the nation’. During the event Jokowi promised scholarships, opportunities for vocational training, money for house renovations and priority health care. Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director, Usman Hamid, dismissed the proposal of Jokowi and called it a ‘token compensation’.[4]
With these few and insufficient measures the president ignores the legal framework, both international and national, that should guarantee the rights of victims. Internationally, for instance, the UN Declaration 40/34 of 1985 on the basic principles of the rights of victims of state violence stipulates that victims have the right to justice and to compensation. Nationally, the Constitution – particularly Articles 28 D(1) and I (4) – guarantees to the victims of state violence equal treatment and access to just law, as well as protection and the fulfilment of their human rights.
On August 27, 2023 a meeting was held in Amsterdam between a high-level delegation from Indonesia and a group of exiles living in The Netherlands and Germany. Online exiles from France, Sweden and Czechia attended. From Indonesia the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, had come as well as Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly. The Indonesian ambassador, Mr Mayerfas also attended. They were accompanied by a large staff, consisting of various directors of relevant government departments and their assistants. Minister Mahfud offered a temporary free multiple entry visa for five years for all exiles, which could be extended. This was a welcome gesture but the exiles were not satisfied. They demanded truth finding and an apology, not just an acknowledgement. Mahfud countered that whoever wanted to investigate the history could do so, he would financially assist. But the state would not engage in rewriting history, so that the lies propagated by the previous regime are still repeated in school curricula and by religious, military and other conservative political figures. ‘Different regimes have different historical perspectives’, Mahfud said.
The compensation offered to the few exiles still alive is about the least costly and least controversial effort the minister could think of. The exiles are old, powerless, a visa costs nothing, and the whole effort will hardly be noticed in Indonesia itself. The PPHAM team has been dissolved by the end of 2023. According to information from exiles only 21 multiple entry visa have been handed out.
[1] Keppres No. 17 2022. Establishment of the Team for the Non-Judicial Settlement for Gross Past Human Rights Violations (Tim Penyelesaian Non-Yudisial Pelanggaran HAM Berat Masa Lalu), PPHAM.
[2] 11 January 2023 press statement Pres Jokowi on Laporan Tim Non Judicial Pelanggaran HAM Berat available at: https://www. Youtube . com/watch?v=Guj4zRo_ jlc&t=30s’.
The decisions are incorporated in Inpres Nomor 2 Tahun 2023 Tentang Pelaksanaan Rekomendasi Penyelesaian Non-Yudisial Pelanggaran HAM Berat
[3] See for instance the press statement by Paguyuban Keluarga 65 of Jakarta, 15 Januari 2023, entitled Mensyukuri Dan Mendukung Pidato Presiden Jokowi Yang Mengakui Dan Menyesalkan Pelanggaran Ham Berat Peristiwa 1965-1966
[4] https://www.amnesty.org.au/indonesia-proposed-reparations-to-victims-of-human-rights-violations-are-futile-without-accountability/