ABC AUSTRALIA, 26/09/2005 23:01:23
Indonesia rights watchdog probes Suharto-era kidnappings
Indonesia's state human rights commission believes it has collected enough evidence
to put officers suspected of abducting activists at the end of former dictator, Suharto's
rule on trial.
Twelve activists, many of them linked to parties challenging Suharto's autocratic rule,
disappeared between 1997 and 1998 and have not been seen since.
Ruswiati Suryaputra of the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights says
the case should qualify as a gross human rights violation because it appears that the
state institutions are behind the disappearances.
Although no bodies have ever been ever found, human rights activists accuse the
military of carrying out the abductions, saying they were probably ordered by Suharto
in order to eliminate political opposition.
The human rights commission is now forming a team to check whether there are
enough witnesses and evidence for the case to be put before a special human rights
court.
Our reporter in Jakarta, Marianne Kearney, says in the past legislators have rejected
calls to put the military on trial.
However, a former human rights commissioner, Asmara Nababan, says parliament
may support an ad hoc court for this case.
Suharto often used security personnel to put a stop to or intimidate dissent during his
32-year rule.
He resigned in May 1998 amid massive civil unrest.
ABC Asia Pacific TV / Radio Australia
© ABC 2005 |
