It is not yet the time for justice, but the time for the recognition of serious crimes committed by the state, the security forces and various organizations in Indonesia for half a century. Fifty-seven years after the massacres of 1965 and 1966, which caused between 500,000 and one million deaths among members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), Indonesia has taken an essential step with the recognition by President Joko Widodo, during a televised speech on January 11, on behalf of the State, “serious violations of human rights”. Sympathizers, members of the Chinese diaspora, as well as countless intellectuals or left-wing activists had also been struck.
“I deeply regret the reality of these crimes”“Jokowi” said of the 1965-1966 massacres, but also 11 other cases of major human rights violations that were more recent but never fully punished or elucidated, ranging from the enforced disappearances of pro-democracy activists in 1997-1998 , to several shootings against demonstrators, through the atrocities committed against the civilian population and pro-independence activists in Aceh, East Timor or Papua.
Mr. Widodo spoke at a ceremony marking the official handover of the report commissioned in August 2022 to a team of eight personalities, with the mission of formulating a “non-judicial resolution to serious past human rights violations”. Courts have so far proved powerless to convict military or police officials: “The government and I will strive to restore their rights, in a fair and responsible manner, without giving up on a resolution through the courts”, promised “Jokowi” to the attention of the victims and their relatives.
Haunting impunity
The question of legal settlement remains essential in the eyes of NGOs or victims’ associations, which welcomed Mr. Widodo’s speech but called for the launch of new legal proceedings. Special tribunals set up four times in the past to try members of the army and police in different cases have led to systematic acquittals. The latest, in December 2022, concerns the only suspect, an officer, in the killing of four protesters in Papua in December 2014, a month after the inauguration of Joko Widodo.
Military and police establishment continues to wield strong influence
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