Yang Razali Kassim – Possibly the first organised move to probe into a range of alleged atrocities under the New Order regime of former president Suharto got underway this week with the launch of an independent investigative commission in Jakarta. Initiated by Abdurrahman Wahid, the head of one of Indonesia's most influential Muslim organisations, the commission will probe alleged brutalities in Aceh, Tanjung Priok, Lampung, East Timor and Irian Jaya, as well as allegations of human rights abuses against ethnic Chinese women. Called the Independent Commission on Truth and National Reconciliation (ICTR), or Kinkonas by its Indonesian acronym, its long-term goal is national reconciliation.

A commission spokesman told BT that this was needed following the traumatic upheaval in May which brought down Mr Suharto and his New Order government but which has left Indonesians disturbed by alleged brutalities against civilians under the old regime. The spokesman said the commission would work with religious leaders to establish the truth behind the atrocities. It will also work with other bodies that have been set up to investigate abuses, such as the National Commission on Human Rights.

Mr Abdurrahman, who is going blind as a result of a stroke recently, is the head of the Muslim movement, Nahdatul Ulama (NU). He is also the brains behind a new political party, the National Awakening Party, a group which aims to dislodge the ruling Golkar party in the coming general elections, the first in the post-Suharto era.

Mr Abdurrahman is currently the president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP), which he is roping in to back the commission's mission. Members of the commission have yet to be named but Mr Abdurrahman is expected to be its chairman. "The international character of the commission is crucial to guarantee its objectivity, independence, reliance and credibility," said a statement made available here.

While the immediate target of the commission's probes appears to be the abductions of activists and alleged rapes of ethnic Chinese women, it is significant that its scope extends to areas like Aceh, Tanjung Priok, Lampung, East Timor and Irian Jaya.

The Indonesian media has been abuzz in recent days with reports of the atrocities committed by the military in Aceh during a period of emergency rule to crack down on a separatist movement. Villagers and human rights groups claim to have uncovered mass graves and cases of rapes against local women. Like Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya have also been troubled by separatist tendencies, which the military has been putting down with tough action.

But the listing of the Tanjung Priok and Lampung cases in the ICTR's register is noteworthy because hundreds of Muslims had been reported killed or missing in the 1980s without satisfactory accounting by the government of Mr Suharto. Muslim groups have held demonstrations, demanding probes into the Tanjung Priok riots and calling for action to be taken against military commanders of that period, such as General Benny Murdani and General Try Sutrisno.