Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, made the remarks at a press conference in his office in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Mahfud stressed that no legal politics and policies have changed after the formation of the PP HAM Team since the team's focus is only on restoring the rights of victims of past human rights violations.
"So there is no new legal politics about ideology, about communism. This is in accordance with the Constitution (1945). The rights of victims of crimes or serious human rights violations must be prioritized because the legal procedures provided by the state cannot work," he added.
The restoration of victims' rights, which is one of the non-judicial solutions, must be carried out simultaneously with settlement through judicial channels, he said.
Mahfud further informed that he will meet the victims directly, particularly those who became exiles after the 1965–1966 events and remained in other countries, such as the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
During his visit, he will hear the requests of the victims and inform them of their rights as victims of serious human rights violations.
"Now (the number of exiles) is around 130 (people) in various countries. We want to go to that because, in general, they only ask them not to be seen as traitors, they ask that they are citizens who are loyal to Indonesia. We want to offer (them) to go home, but not many want to go home because they are 82 years old, 83 years old, so we will discuss there stating their Constitutional rights," the minister said.
According to Mahfud, the exiles were mostly Indonesian students studying abroad at the time of the 1965–1966 incidents, who were barred from returning to their homeland.
Many people who were studying in Europe at that time were not allowed to go home because they did not make statements condemning the old regime, he said.
In the Netherlands, Mahfud is scheduled to meet exiles in Amsterdam, while in the Czech Republic, the coordinating minister and his team will meet the exiles in Prague.
Mahfud will also visit Turkey and South Korea to sign a security cooperation document with the governments of the two countries.
Translator: Genta Tenri Mawangi, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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