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| New Legislation |
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During the course of its administration, Wahid’s government made several attempts to introduce human rights
legislation. In August 2000, the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) amended the 1945 Constitution to incorporate
human rights protections modeled on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, many observers fear that
the wholesale incorporation of this text has not allowed sufficient attention to potential inconsistencies with other
parts of the constitution and detailed implementation measures have not yet been considered.
Click here for the text of the new constitution
Another important reform was the repeal of the Anti Subversion law. This law prohibited criticism of the state ideology
and was responsible for imprisoning and intimidating political opponents under President Suharto. However, this law has
come back into enforcement through the Criminal Code (KUHO).
Other reforms have been made to the judiciary, but progress has been slow. A new law establishing a human rights court,
which would bring perpetrators of war crimes to trial, has been introduced but has not yet been passed. However, in March
2001, Parliament approved the establishment of ad hoc courts to prosecute past human rights crimes in East Timor in 1999
and Tanjung Priok in 1984.
Former President Wahid also began a process to limit the powers of the military and bring it under civilian control. He appointed
a civilian defense minister and placed the national police force under civilian supervision in a move to give the police
primary responsibility for internal security. He also removed General Wiranto from his Cabinet, pending the outcome of
investigations into Wiranto’s role in the 1999 East Timor violence. In March 2000, former President Wahid signed a decree formally
disbanding the widely hated internal security organization, Agency for Coordination of Assistance for the Consolidation of
National Security (Bakorstanas). It is hoped that Megawati will further this policy. In the past the agency gave state security forces wide discretion to detain and interrogate
persons who were perceived as a threat to national security.
While the prospect of bringing perpetrators of human rights abuses to court remains unlikely, the following positive
developments took place in the past year. In January 2000, the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM)
agreed to establish commissions to investigate two specific cases in Aceh and Papua, the latter of which has already begun.
Please click here for the Komnas website
In another positive development, in May 2000, 24 soldiers were sentenced to prison for the killing of a Muslim teacher and
56 of his followers in Aceh. However, none of those convicted were above the rank of lieutenant.
For more information about the trial, click on:
Amnesty International On-Line: Indonesia: Aceh trial – Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
call for Full Accountability
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