Riri Rahayu, Jakarta – The government allotted Rp13 billion for the construction of a memorial living park in Pidie Regency, Aceh, as part of the reparation for the victims of gross human rights violations in the region, said the Deputy Minister of Public Works, Diana Kusumastuti.
Diana claims the project is proof of the government's role in the process of restitution for the victims. "We are not idle," she said on Monday, January 13, adding that there is evidence for the government's actions towards victim recovery.
The Memorial Living Park was built by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) on an area of 7,015 square meters and is equipped with various facilities. Some of these facilities include a 5,000-capacity mosque and children's playground. The government also built 29 houses for the victims of human rights violations with a budget of Rp3.4 billion.
According to the Deputy Minister of Human Rights, Mugiyanto, the government built the Memorial Living Park Rumoh Geudong in Aceh to commemorate three gross human rights violations that have occurred in Aceh: the Rumoh Geudong, Jambo Keupok, and Simpang KKA tragedies. The memorial also serves as a reminder to ensure no similar tragedy shall occur in the future.
"We're not completely erasing the traces of the past, as we keep some of the crucial relics, namely the stairs and the well," said Mugiyanto.
The memorial park is scheduled to be inaugurated next month, as the construction was completed in 2024. "We will ask Bapak President (Prabowo Subianto) if he's willing to inaugurate the memorial park," he added.
The deputy minister claims that all victims of gross human rights violations at Rumoh Geudong have approved this project. "We have cleared the construction with the residents and victims' communities," he said.
He said the victims and the surrounding residents will be involved in managing the Memorial Living Park Rumoh Geudong once it's inaugurated.
For information, the Memorial Living Park Rumoh Geudong is one of the follow-up projects to Presidential Instruction Number 2 of 2023 concerning the implementation of recommendations for non-judicial settlement of gross human rights violations signed by former President Joko Widodo on March 15, 2023.
Civil society groups had asked the government to temporarily suspend the memorial park's construction after workers found the remaining bones of the Aceh victims in late 2023.
– Hammam Izzudin and Sultan Abdurrahman contributed to the writing of this article.