Auliya Umayna Andani, Fransiskus Adryanto Pratama – The Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity will appeal a Jakarta Administrative Court (PTUN) ruling that rejected a lawsuit against Minister of Culture Fadli Zon's denial of the 1998 mass rapes.

Zon stated that the Joint Fact-Finding Team's (TGPF) report on the 1998 mass rapes was not based on solid figures or supporting evidence, including names, times and locations of the incidents.

"We will pursue legal efforts to appeal this ruling", said Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity Chairperson Daniel Winarta during a press conference at the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) building on Tuesday April 21.

Meanwhile, an attorney for another plaintiff, Virdinda Achmad, said the PTUN ruling was bad news for women's safe spaces in Indonesia. She said the ruling further distances the victims of the May 1998 rapes from a sense of justice.

"We see this as a step backward that further perpetuates impunity in this country and further distances victims and their families from justice, especially in the case of the May 1998 mass rapes", said Achmad.

Achmad stated that there is a suspicion that this is an attempt to distance a more substantial discussion of the 1998 incident.

She also regretted the judges' decision, which appeared to disregard the 95 pieces of evidence presented. She said that the six-month trial in which a number witnesses were presented did not take their testimonies into consideration in making the decision.

"This is a bad precedent that further worsens the situation in this country based on the rule of law", Achmad said.

She also believes that by rejecting this lawsuit, the panel of judges demonstrated a lack of courage to reveal the truth about the 1998 mass rapes experienced by ethnic Chinese women.

Achmad is disappointed with the judges' consideration that the statement conveyed by Zon was his right to preserve history.

In its deliberations, the panel of judges chaired by Hastin Kurnia Dewi and members Ni Nyoman Vidiayu Purbasari and Febrina Permadi, stated that the PTUN could not adjudicate the lawsuit filed by former Attorney General Marzuki Darusman and several civil society elements.

The panel of judges reasoned that the lawsuit against Zon did not create rights or obligations for other parties and was not directed at a specific individual. Therefore, the object of the lawsuit did not fall under the category of a state administrative decision (KTUN) or administrative action that could be challenged in the PTUN.

Quoting from the plaintiffs' petition, it states that Zon's statement in a press release disregarded and discredited the plaintiffs' work and experience. Yet some of the plaintiffs had worked diligently on a fact-finding team and assisted victims of sexual violence during the May 1998 incident, while others had even lost family members in the incident.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Koalisi Sipil akan Banding usai PTUN Tolak Gugatan ke Fadli Zon".]

Source: https://tirto.id/koalisi-sipil-akan-banding-usai-ptun-tolak-gugatan-ke-fadli-zon-huM