Jakarta – A senior People's Conscience Party (Hanura) politician says he will not stop the government from forming a tribunal to probe alleged human rights violations involving the party's chairman.

Saleh Husin, the secretary-general of Hanura, told reporters on Friday that plans to establish an ad-hoc tribunal to probe alleged violations during the 1998 riots would not hinder the presidential ambitions of Hanura chairman Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, who was then commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Saleh said that alleged human rights violations always became an issue in the run-up to elections – and would soon fade after the polling booths closed. "This is not the first time such an issue has surfaced ahead of the elections," Saleh said.

In 2009, the House of Representatives recommended that the government set up a tribunal to investigate and potentially prosecute those believed to have committed human rights violations in the days before Soeharto's downfall.

Not until recently, however, did the government move to establish a tribunal by arranging a meeting between lawmakers and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Although Saleh said that Wiranto was in the clear, a report published by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in 2003 alleged that the retired general might have been involved in rights abuses.

The report also alleged that another presidential hopeful, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto, the chief patron of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, was also implicated in the bloody riots in 1998.

The Komnas HAM report said that the security authorities at the time failed to curb simultaneous widespread rioting, concluding that the riots had been orchestrated based on similarities in how the violence began: provocations, followed by attacks on civilians.

Lawmakers have been divided on establishing a tribunal, with some saying that the move was politically motivated.

Puan Maharani, who leads the lawmakers of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the House, said there were many factors needing consideration before establishing a tribunal.

A tribunal, Puan said, would affect Indonesia's image in the global community. "We want our new leader to be accepted not only by the people, but also by the global community."

Previously, Komnas HAM chairman Otto Nur Abdullah said that the commission would endorse the establishment of the ad hoc tribunal, regardless of political considerations.

"Komnas HAM, as well as the public, will fully support the government in its plan. Any political motivation behind the initiative is beyond the remit of Komnas HAM," he said.