Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Amid mounting calls for the government to grant Soeharto a hero status, the National Commission on Human Rights said Tuesday it would continue investigations into past atrocities implicating the late former president.
The commission's chairman Ifdhal Kasim said even though Soeharto had died and the criminal charges against him had been halted, it did not mean human rights abuses that occurred during Soeharto's term were closed.
"We will continue our investigation (on the case) and hope to finish it by early March," Ifdhal told Antara.
"Although Soeharto, who was politically responsible for the cases, has died, we can still find his cronies, the ones who organized and executed the abuses," Ifdhal said. "We will probe these people and demand they be held responsible."
He said the investigation would be conducted case-by-case and would be prioritized on five major cases, including the arrest of political activists in Buru island between 1969 and 1979 and the mysterious shootings – known as the Petrus case – in 1981 to 1985.
Other cases include the July 27, 1996 incident in Jakarta involving supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Tanjung Priok case in 1984 and the case of Military Operation Areas (DOM) in Aceh and Papua from the 1970s to 1990s.
The Buru island incident involved at least 10,000 political prisoners, while the Petrus incident victimized some 5,000 people, who were allegedly criminals.
Petrus occurred in provinces across Java and some areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The Tanjung Priok clash left 24 people dead and many others injured. During the DOM incident, hundreds of thousands of people were kidnapped and abused.
Ifdhal said the commission would continue investigations based on reports by previous commissioners. "We will also summon witnesses, including military officials," he said.
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Djoko Santoso declared last week TNI was willing to cooperate with the commission to reveal human rights abuses implicating its officials. "We welcome TNI's commitment to cooperate with us, so that there will be no official who refuses to be present during court sessions," Ifdhal said.
Soeharto died on Sunday at the age of 86 and received a state funeral. The Golkar Party faction on Tuesday proposed to grant Soeharto the status of a national hero.
Faction chairman Priyo Budi Santoso said Soeharto was one of the nation's "best figures" who deserved the status because of his dedication. He said the faction would forward its proposal to Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla, who is also Vice President, for feedback from the government.
Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng told The Jakarta Post the government had yet to discuss the proposal for the title of hero. Andi said the government did not see the issue as a priority.
"The government's priority is to give back everything that has been the people's right," he said. "But we do not forbid anyone to propose anything, this is a democratic country."
Soeharto's government took 16 years to name founding president Sukarno a national hero.