Urgent Appeal: The National Human Rights Commission Must Release the Investigation Report on the Case of 1965.
Dear friends,

The Commission of Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) writes to you to inform you that after having promised to release the investigation report on the 1965 incident, 3 months after the last plenary meeting, the National Commission of Human Rights has reneged on its promise and failed to release the report, yet again.


Case details:

Since 2008, the The National Human Rights Commission has done investigations on cases of alleged human rights violations that have occurred in the 1965 incident. The Commission has started the investigation for the 1965 incident since May 2008 through the establishment of an ad hoc pro-justicia team to investigate on the Serious Human Rights Violations of the 1965/66 incident. These human rights violations were directed to the followers of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), including its sympathizers and those alleged to have involved in political activities that support PKI and Soekarno. The incident of 1965 did not only leave a controversy in the political history of Indonesia, but far more alarmingly, it resulted in gross human rights abuses against thousands or even millions of people.

A review of the National Human Rights Commission’s in 2003 found an amount of gross human rights violation that occurred in the exile camps on Buru Island, including forced displacement, placement in isolation camps, slavery,forced labor, murder, persecution, torture and isolation.

The team has examined and found at least 357 survivors from various regions. However, up to November 2011, the “Commission” has not issued a report on the results of the investigation. The last plenary session of the Commission decided to delay the issuance of the report and instead, provided recommendations to the team to make improvements.

In a written statement read out directly in front of the victims, the head of the investigation team, Nurkholis, stated that throughout 2008-2011, the team has conducted an examination of the witnesses in 348 regions in Indonesia. However, although the team has completed the examination of witnesses and gathering of evidence, the Commission Plenary Session decided to extend the work of the team for 3 months due to the lack of details in particular cases.

“We promise the investigation will be completed in the next 3 months. Our reputation is at stake. If we cannot finish on time, we do not deserve to be called the members of the National Commission of Human Rights, let alone to run again for the next period.”
– Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission, Joseph Adi Prasetyo.

Apparently, on the 12th of April, precisely 3 months after the National Human Rights Commission declared their extension on the investigation time of the Pro-Justicia team for the case of 1965/1966 from January 12, 2012, still no investigation report was published. The due date has arrived, yet the report on the investigation remains disappointingly unpublicized. This delay is the third to happen, after the previous delays that were announced after the Plenary Session on 5-6 July 2011, 9-10 August 2011, and 9-13 January 2012. Moreover, the Pro-Justicia team also refused to sign a written statement which includes the terms demanded in this urgent appeal, arguing that the new plenary session will be held later on 8-9 May 2012, and therefore will not likely announce the results of the investigation prior to that date.

For that reason, we are highly concerned that the Commission will further delay the announcement of the results of the investigation report of the 1965/1966 incidents until the end of the Commission’s term of office. We would also remind the Commission that the pro-justicia investigation on the 1965-1966 incident is a working mandate for the Commission that must be accounted for under the legal basis of article 18 of National Law no. 26, 2000 on human rights court.

Departing from this, we strongly urge the Commission to declare in writing to the victims of the 1965/1966 incident that:
1.The 1965/1955 incident is a serious human rights violation based on the results of the investigation that has been done by the Commission since 2008.
2.The National Human Rights Commission will finalize and announce the final results of the investigation reports of serious human rights abuses in the incident of 1965/1966 at the latest by the end of April 2012

Background Information:

The tragedy of 1965/1966 did not only leave a dark history of politics and feuds of Indonesia in the past, more alarmingly, the tragedy still leaves a number of issues of human rights abuses to present time. The former political prisoners and victims of the communist stigma due to the 1965 incident notabene were never tried, and the victims who are now elderly people still have to face legal, political, social, cultural and economic discrimination.

The reform and the democracy built in Indonesia have not been able to answer the issues that are faced by these victims. The improvement in the legal system, and changes in a number of laws and amendments to the 1945 Constitution still can not provide direct implications to the fulfillment of the civil and political rights of the New Order victims, particularly political prisoners and victims of stigma due to the tragedy of 1965/1966.

The tragedy of 1965/1966, has resulted in the act of cruelty and brutality of murder, torture, imprisonment, exile, rape, sexual violence, forced displacement, expulsion, forced labor, termination, acquisition of property rights, the prohibition to return to Indonesia for those who went for an exodus, and a host of other discriminatory acts. Several sources mention that there were thousands to millions of people who became victims of the tragedy of 1965/1966 in Indonesia.

SUGGESTED ACTION:Please write a letter to the National Commission of Human Rights and the Head of Pro-Justicia team to investigate on the Serious Human Rights Violations of the 1965/66 Incident requesting their intervention (please see attachment the sample letter) to: Mr. Ifdhal Khasim, Chairman of National Commission of Human Rights.

Sample letter to Mr. Ifdhal Kasim [download]