Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Activists asked the government Thursday to immediately establish a witness and victim protection institution to watch over people before they testify in court.
"Witness protection in Indonesia, especially in human rights violation cases, has not got a good image," Supriyadi Widodo Eddyono, legal service coordinator at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy said Thursday.
He said the main reason most witnesses were unwilling to testify before a court was they were worried for their physical safety and psychological well-being.
"Their physical safety has been guaranteed by law enforcer officers but not their psychological security," Supriyadi said.
"The National Commission of Human Rights is still relying on police officers. And the commission does not have its own security units to protect victims or witnesses."
He said several witnesses, who would give an advantage to the victims, especially in human rights violation cases, did not seem to give their testimony freely because of the psychological pressure they felt.
"This fear forces witnesses to deny their own dossiers in the court," Supriyadi said. "And this makes a prosecutor's ability to prove a case very weak. Therefore, any protection offered to victims and witnesses become very significant," he said.
One year after the government enacted a 2006 law to see a protection body set up, the institution has yet to be established.
The process is underway, however, the selection team for members of LPSK chaired by director general of human rights at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, has just extended the registration dateline from September 17 to October 20.
The government would then select seven people to be LPSK members for a five-year tenure.
Chairperson of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, Kamala Chandrakirana, said there were at least five minimum requirements for candidates wanting a spot on the LPSK.
"First, they should have experience in dealing with human rights cases and democracy," Kamala said. "Second, they must know the obstacles in guaranteeing the safety of victims or witnesses.
Kamala said LPSK members should be ready to defend the institution's independence. "Fourth, they should have the capacity to build cooperation among institutions, because they will not work alone. And last but not least, they should be ready to work overtime."
She said she hoped at least two of the seven LPSK members would be women with a track record in dealing with violence against women cases, as well as a commitment to gender equality.