Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri, facing a tight re-election race, Monday backed the creation of a truth commission to investigate rights abuses by the military that she said have left a "deep wound" on Indonesia.
Megawati's comments in her annual state of the nation speech, which also promoted her administration's successes over the past year, appeared aimed at critics of the country's rights record.
They also were part of an effort to contrast her civilian pedigree with that of her opponent – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who hails from the country's powerful military – ahead of the September 20 run-off.
In the past month, the courts have handed down a string of controversial verdicts that acquitted military officials in connection with the 1984 shooting of protesters that left 23 dead and overturned guilty verdicts for top army and police commanders blamed for the 1999 violence in East Timor, which left 1,500 dead.
"We know how difficult it is to resolve these cases of human rights abuses," she said. "They leave a deep wound. We hope that the parliament will discuss and pass the law to set up the commission soon."
Megawati is trailing far behind her former security minister, Yudhoyono, ahead of the run-off. Yudhoyono won the July 5 election, tapping into voters' anger over Megawati's aloof leadership and failure to crack down on corruption and revive the economy.
Megawati, however, told the nation that her administration has dealt a blow to terrorists, contained separatism in Aceh and stabilized the economy.
"The Indonesian police, working with other institutions, have succeeded in solving, arresting, investigating and handing over to prosecutors terror suspects, who endanger our people, nation and state," Megawati said in Parliament ahead of Indonesia's Independence Day celebrations August 17.
Indonesia has suffered a string of terrorist attacks dating back to 2002, including the October 12, 2002 Bali bombings and August 5, 2003 J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing which killed 214 people. The attacks have been blamed on the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group, and dozens of its members have been jailed.
Megawati also said government troops are winning the battle against the Free Aceh Movement in the oil- and gas- rich province of Aceh. The government claims it has killed more than 2,000 suspected rebels since it launched a military offensive in May 2003. However, most of the group's leadership remains intact, and the fighting continues.
"The military and police ... had some success in containing the separatist threat," she said. "[We] have contained the separatist threat to its minimum level (although) we have not reached all our targets."
Activists say the military has committed rights abuses ranging from kidnapping to murder in Aceh, Papua and the former Indonesian territory of East Timor. They also accuse authorities of failing to bring rights abusers to justice, noting the string of recent court rulings that overturned guilty verdicts against top generals responsible for the 1999 violence in East Timor.
Megawati said her administration has stabilized the currency, lowered inflation and reduced the number of Indonesians living in poverty. She also said her government has begun taking aim at corruption, including bringing some key culprits to court.