Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The government will not set up an ad hoc human rights tribunal to prosecute those believed responsible for the 1998 kidnapping of activists in the near future, a senior minister said on Thursday.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto on Thursday denied a statement made by presidential advisor Albert Hasibuan who said the President would soon issue a decree to establish the rights tribunal. The minister claimed that Albert had misinterpreted the President's statements on the matter.

"What the President said to me was that the cases must be dealt with comprehensively and altogether, not limited to certain cases such as those in 1998," the retired Air Marshall and former Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander told the press at the State Palace. "What I understood from the President's order was that I shall not deal with the ones recommended by the House only."

A few days ago, Albert revived hope that the country would finally move to resolve past human rights abuses, particularly the forced disappearances of several anti-Soeharto activists in 1997 and 1998 by members of the military. He said that Djoko had told him that the process for the creation of the rights tribunal was nearly finished.

"I believe the court would operate before Yudhoyono's tenure ends in 2014 at the latest," Albert said when attending a gathering with family members of the kidnappings at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Tuesday.

The establishment of the rights tribunal is highly political as it involves several prominent figures, including presidential hopefuls Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto.

Prabowo, the chief patron of Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), was the commander of the Special Forces Command (Kopassus) when the kidnappings took place. Wiranto, who chairs the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), was then chief of TNI.

A recommendation from the House of Representatives on the establishment of an ad hoc court for the 1997/1998 forced disappearance cases was sent to the President in 2009.

The 2000 Human Rights Courts Law mandates the President to establish an ad hoc human rights court should the House issue a recommendation to set up an ad hoc court to scrutinize human rights cases taking place before the Law entered into force in 2000. The law also mandates the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to follow up Komnas HAM's findings with a full-blown investigation and prosecute the suspects before the court.

The government has failed to follow up on the House's recommendation until only recently when, earlier this year, Djoko held a meeting with House members to arrange a consultative meeting between the House and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to discuss the creation of the tribunal.

Djoko, however, said that it was hard for the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to set up the tribunal as Komnas HAM did not name the people involved in the alleged abuse.

"According to the law, Komnas HAM must identify the individuals implicated and their alleged roles. But the commission's reports only mentioned institutions. The AGO considered it unfinished. They cannot process such an incomplete report."

Previously, attorney general Basrief Arief said the ad hoc court could not be organized in the near future because the preliminary investigation by Komnas HAM was flawed and internal rifts within the commission hampered coordination between the two institutions.

A Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker, Indra, said that he regretted the government's indecisiveness. "This matter has political aspects, we cannot deny that. It can be used as a political bargaining tool," he said.

[Margareth S. Aritonang contributed to the story.]