The chairman of the Public Prosecution Commission said on Tuesday that he would question Attorney General Basrief Arief about why his office had such a difficult time investigating cases of serious human rights violations.

That comes just a day after the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) filed a complaint with the prosecution commission over what it called the AGOâ??s slow handling of such cases. The prosecution commission oversees the Attorney General’s Office.

“We need to hear what the obstacles are in handling human rights cases, whether they are related to coordination matters or the law,” said the prosecution commission chairman, Halius Hosen.

The prosecution commission cannot intervene directly in AGO cases, but it can conduct an investigation and issue recommendations, Halius said.

“There are serious human rights cases that were not followed up by [AGO] investigators,” Yati Andriani, head of the impunity observation division at Kontras, said on Monday.

“The attorney general should be able to start investigations without having to wait for the establishment of an ad hoc human rights court,” she said.

In 2011, the prosecution commission’s powers were expanded in response to claims it was a toothless agency.

Activists have pointed out at least six major human rights violations across the country in the last three decades, including the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre, the 1989 Talangsari killings, the May 1998 Jakarta riots, the 1998 Trisakti and Semanggi shootings, the political abductions in 1997-98 and violence in Papua.

Last month, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) released a report on human rights violations in Indonesia. It said the handling of such cases had been stagnant in the first four months of the year.

“In general, there have been no significant developments related to past cases of human rights abuses,” said Elsam’s executive director, Indriaswati D. Saptaningrum.

Indri said the poor handling of human rights abuse cases showed that solving them was not high on the government’s list of priorities.

“None of the cases investigated by Komnas HAM, such as the Trisakti shootings, Semanggi I and II, the May 1998 riots, Talangsari 1989 and the 1997-98 missing person cases, were brought to an ad hoc human rights court,” Indriaswati said on release of the report.

Komnas HAM is the National Commission on Human Rights.â??Rangga Prakoso

The chairman of the Public Prosecution Commission said on Tuesday that he would question Attorney General Basrief Arief about why his office had such a difficult time investigating cases of serious human rights violations.

That comes just a day after the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) filed a complaint with the prosecution commission over what it called the AGOâ??s slow handling of such cases. The prosecution commission oversees the Attorney General’s Office.

“We need to hear what the obstacles are in handling human rights cases, whether they are related to coordination matters or the law,” said the prosecution commission chairman, Halius Hosen.

The prosecution commission cannot intervene directly in AGO cases, but it can conduct an investigation and issue recommendations, Halius said.

“There are serious human rights cases that were not followed up by [AGO] investigators,” Yati Andriani, head of the impunity observation division at Kontras, said on Monday.

“The attorney general should be able to start investigations without having to wait for the establishment of an ad hoc human rights court,” she said.

In 2011, the prosecution commissionâ??s powers were expanded in response to claims it was a toothless agency.

Activists have pointed out at least six major human rights violations across the country in the last three decades, including the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre, the 1989 Talangsari killings, the May 1998 Jakarta riots, the 1998 Trisakti and Semanggi shootings, the political abductions in 1997-98 and violence in Papua.

Last month, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) released a report on human rights violations in Indonesia. It said the handling of such cases had been stagnant in the first four months of the year.

“In general, there have been no significant developments related to past cases of human rights abuses,” said Elsam’s executive director, Indriaswati D. Saptaningrum.

Indri said the poor handling of human rights abuse cases showed that solving them was not high on the government’s list of priorities.

“None of the cases investigated by Komnas HAM, such as the Trisakti shootings, Semanggi I and II, the May 1998 riots, Talangsari 1989 and the 1997-98 missing person cases, were brought to an ad hoc human rights court,” Indriaswati said on release of the report.

Komnas HAM is the National Commission on Human Rights.â??Rangga Prakoso