1st Edition
Transitional Justice from State to Civil Society Democratization in Indonesia
This book is the first to offer an in-depth analysis of transitional justice as an unfinished agenda in Indonesia’s democracy.
Examining the implementation of transitional justice measures in post-authoritarian Indonesia, this book analyses the factors within the democratic transition that either facilitated or hindered the adoption and implementation of transitional justice measures. Furthermore, it contributes key insights from an extensive examination of ‘bottom-up’ approaches to transitional justice in Indonesia: through a range of case studies, civil society-led initiatives to truth-seeking and local reconciliation efforts. Based on extensive archival, legal and media research, as well as interviews with key actors in Indonesia’s democracy and human rights’ institutions, the book provides a significant contribution to current understandings of Indonesia’s democracy. Its analysis of the failure of state-centred transitional justice measures, and the role of civil society, also makes an important addition to comparative transitional justice studies.
It will be of considerable interest to scholars and activists in the fields of Transitional Justice and Politics, as well as in Asian Studies.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Tables and Charts
Glossary
1. Introduction: Transitional Justice in Post-Soeharto Indonesia
Transitional Justice: Emergence, Concepts and Trends around the Globe
Transitional Justice in Indonesia
Assessing Transitional Justice and the Implications for Democracy
Explaining Transitional Justice: The Nature of the Democratic Transition
Research Methods and Data Collection
Book Structure
2. Human Rights, Transitional Justice, and Political Transition in Indonesia
Human Rights under the New Order
The Politics and Periods of Transitional Justice in Post-Soeharto Indonesia
The Period of Momentous Change, 1998-2000
The Military in the Period of Momentous Change
The Period of Compromised Mechanisms, 2001-2009
The Military
Conclusion
3. Prosecutions in Cases of Past Human Rights Abuses: the East Timor and Tanjung Priok Trials
Intoduction
Impunity: the Legacy of the Past Repressive Regime
Establishing the Human Rights Courts
Trials on East Timor and Tanjung Priok
The Context: The 1999 East Timor Referendum and Crimes against Humanity
The Trials
The 1984 Tanjung Priok Killings
The Tanjung Priok Trials
Adoption and Implementation of Trials
Assessing Processes and Outcomes—Comparing the Two Trials
Conclusion
4. The Adoption and Annulment of the Law on Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Introduction
Discourse on Truth and Reconciliation in the Early Years of Political Transition
Getting to a TRC
Truth versus Reconciliation
Debates on Amnesty
Evaluating the Processes and Outcomes of the Adoption of the TRC Law
Acknowledging the Limits of Restorative Justice
Transitional Justice and the Transplacement Nature of Democratisation
The Absence of a Truth Mechanism and its Implications for Indonesia’s Democracy *
The Absence of Political Judgement
The Absence of Deliberative Space to Reflect History and Moral Standards
Local TRCs
Conclusion
5. Human Rights Groups and Transitional Justice Initiatives
Introduction
Human Rights Movements before Reformasi
Human Rights and the Transitional Justice Agenda during the Democratic Transition
Human Rights Groups, the New Political Elite, and Transitional Justice Agenda in the Early Transition
Transitional Justice from Below: Human Rights Strategies after Reformasi
Conclusion
6. Transitional Justice at Local Level: the Case of Palu, Central Sulawesi
Introduction
The 1965 Mass Violence in Palu
SKP HAM, Victims’ Mobilisation, and Local Government Responses
Palu’s Reparation Program
Assessing Transitional Justice Initiatives in Palu
Conditions for Transitional Justice
Roles of NGOs and Victims
Local Political Dynamics and the Local Elite
Conclusion
7. Toward Post-Transitional Justice?
Reflecting on Transitional Justice from the Indonesian Experience
Transitional Justice and Democracy: Investigating the Impacts
B
Biography
Sri Lestari Wahyuningroem is based in the Political Science Department, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, Indonesia.
