Despite political obstacles, the Aceh provincial administration is considering establishing a truth and reconciliation committee to settle unresolved cases of human rights abuse.

Below is an article written by Ridwan Max Sijabat and published by the Jakarta Post:

Despite political obstacles, the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam provincial administration is considering establishing a truth and reconciliation committee (KKR) to settle unresolved human rights abuse cases.

"All human rights violations that occurred during bloody conflict in the past must be settled comprehensively. The establishment of a truth and reconciliation committee to achieve this mission will require a common commitment from all stake holders, including the central government," Aceh Vice Governor Muhammad Nazar told The Jakarta Post.

"We are still approaching former GAM (Free Aceh Movement) leaders and the central government, particularly the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police, to win their backing for this mission."

He said the settlement of rights abuse cases was not only a matter of money, but also of honesty and willingness.

"The core problem is not only how to compensate victims and their families, but also how to encourage the two once-fighting sides to be honest and tell the truth as well as be willing to accept the legal consequences of the human rights abuses they committed in the past without any social, political and psychological impact on ties between Jakarta and Aceh in the future," said Nazar.

"The current state of peace must be maintained to achieve progress for the sake of the Acehnese people. We do not want the planned KKR to spark strong resistance from either side."

Nazar said from a legal perspective, the provincial administration would face difficulties establishing the KKR. Despite being recommended in a 2005 law on Aceh's administration, it still requires approval from a national commission of truth and reconciliation, which failed to come into existence after a Constitutional Court decision last year annulled a law on its legal basis.

"We have officially asked the central government to allow us to establish our own KKR, but the President is yet to give his approval," he said.

When asked about the progress of a reintegration program outlined in a 2005 peace agreement signed by Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Nazar said it was nearing completion.

"Currently the Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) is verifying claims from victims regarding some 40,000 houses that were damaged during the conflict," he said.

"Jakarta has disbursed Rp 250 billion (US$27.17 million) of the central government's commitment of Rp 700 billion this year to start reconstructing and rehabilitating damaged houses."

Meanwhile, the Aceh office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has urged the government to establish an ad hoc court to hear at least seven major human rights cases which allegedly involve the military.

"The seven cases could be tried without the presence of a truth and reconciliation committee because the cases involve massive killings which were committed not only by soldiers in their own capacity, but were based on orders from the military," the coordinator of Kontras Aceh, Asiah Uzia, told the Post.