No images? Click here Jokowi and his sweet promises to resolve human rights issuesWith two years left before his presidential term ends, Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo resurrected his old promise to resolve past human rights abuses. In his August annual speech during Indonesia's Independence Day, he said he had signed a Presidential Decree to form a team for non-judicial settlements of past human rights violations. Indonesia has had 12 cases of gross human rights violations in the past, including the anticommunist mass killings in the late 1960s that followed a failed coup that killed six military generals on 30th September 1965. The nation commemorates the crack down against the putsch every first of October. Many are quite sceptical about Jokowi's latest move. He had made this promise eight years ago, just before he became president. Resolving the country's past human rights abuses had been one of Jokowi's cards in winning the 2014 presidential campaign. People were hopeful with Jokowi. His non-military background was expected to bring a fresh approach to entangling past human rights cases. However, his promise has remained a promise. He hadn't made any actions until his recent move to form the non-judicial team. Why now? Human rights experts and activists have questioned his motives. They are also unsure whether this is the right approach to restore justice for victims. ----- To improve our services to our audience, we would like you to complete our audience survey. We offer gifts for lucky respondents. We have also opened The Conversation Indonesia Video Competition on Environmental topics. See more info here. How former political prisoners of Indonesia’s 1965 mass killings grapple with memories of their bloody pastThe 1965 killings in Indonesia not only led to the death and imprisonment of many, but also forced survivors to shoulder knowledge of this history through silence, acceptance, and resilience.
55 years of impunity: how Indonesia is going backwards after the 1965 genocideMy analysis of 3,000 pages of secret internal military documents strengthens findings pointing to the Indonesian military's involvement in the 1965-66 genocide.
Our interesting stories in Indonesian languageMore stories from other editions |