I believe that what is most crucial is the political will of a president
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The resolution of cases involving gross human rights violations from the past relies on political will, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Ahmad Taufan Damanik has said.



"I believe that what is most crucial is the political will of a president," he noted here on Thursday.



If a president pressures the attorney general to resolve such cases, then everything gets cleared and settled, he opined.


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He cited the handling of the Papua Paniai case as an example. Before an investigation team was formed and the investigation phase began, the President had ordered the attorney general to look into the case.



The pressure from the President on the attorney general was not due to lobbying or any convincing on Komnas HAM’s part, he informed



"As a result, the case went through to the investigation phase," Damanik noted.



He then invited all parties to wait for the continuation of the legal process in court. However, there is a chance that the suspect may be released.


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This was said based on an incident dating back to the time of former president Gus Dur, when Marzuki Darusman was attorney general.



Back then, there was a gross human rights violation case that was brought to court. However, the suspected ended up being released by the court.



"Hence, it is important to encourage the court to uphold justice for victims," Damanik said.



Thus, the resolution of gross human rights cases is not within the authority of the commission, whose scope is limited to just investigating such violations. Rather, their resolution depends more on the political will of a president.



This is because while the authority to investigate cases has been given to Komnas HAM, their prosecution is still under the purview of the Attorney General and the Supreme Court.

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Translator: M Zulfikar, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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