Commission XIII Of The House Of Representatives Hopes Formation Of TGPF By The Ministry Of Human Rights Gives Justice To Victims Of OCI Economy

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission XIII of the House of Representatives Andreas Hugo Pareira welcomed the recommendations of the Ministry of Human Rights (HAM) regarding the formation of the Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) as a follow-up to the handling of the case of the former ORiental Circuit Indonesia (OCI). Where, KemenHAM suspects that there have been violations of law and human rights in cases that have been deposited for a long time.

"The allegation of exploitation of children, physical and sexual violence, as well as the loss of family identity revealed from the OCI circus case is clear evidence that Indonesia still has a big gap in protecting human rights, especially against vulnerable groups," Andreas said, Saturday, May 9.

The disclosure of this case stems from the confession of a number of former OCI circus players about the dark story for decades as circus players who are active in various places, including in Taman Safari Indonesia.

For years, they claimed to have been subjected to physical violence, exploitation, and inhumane treatment. It was also revealed that the circus separated children from childhood from their parents to be trained as circus players, some even since the baby. This case was reported by the people in 1997, but two years later it was stopped by the police.

Based on the confessions of the former OCI circus players, the Ministry of Human Rights issued a report. One of them is related to the findings of alleged violations of children's rights to find out their origins and allegations of child abuses related to their right to education.

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights also suspects that there was physical violence that led to mistreatment of the OCI circus, including allegations of sexual violence, to allegations of modern slavery practices.

According to Andreas, this case reflects the weakness of the human rights protection system in the country.

"The government must not remain silent, and must ensure that justice can be upheld. Moreover, the state failed to investigate this case in the 90s, the government must ensure that the state must no longer fail to provide justice for the victims," he stressed.

Regarding the OCI circus case, the Ministry of Human Rights submitted four recommendations. First, recommending Komnas HAM to conduct an investigation and concluding whether or not there were gross human rights violations in the past, and corporate accountability for this case.

Second, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights asked the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) to examine alleged criminal acts in this case, based on the treatment experienced by former late generation OCI players. Including investigating when the OCI circus group stopped operating to ensure the time of the incident and the act (temphus delicti) was held accountable for the case.

The Ministry of Human Rights also recommends that the National Police ask the founders and owners of OCI to provide documents related to the handover or takeover of the children they employed.

Third, the Ministry of Human Rights recommends the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) to facilitate trauma healing for former SCI players. This is a form of implementation of handling the protection of women's and children's rights.

Fourth, the Ministry of Human Rights also recommends the establishment of a Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) on the basis of an official request from the DPR RI to conduct further investigations that are investigative.

Andreas stated that Commission XIII of the House of Representatives recommended the establishment of a TGPF to follow up on human rights violations against former CCI circus players. This recommendation was decided after his party heard the aspirations and complaints from former OCI workers at the Public Hearing Meeting (RDPU) which was held some time ago.

"In order to verify and prove human rights violations and the category of violations, Commission XIII of the DPR has recommended to the Ministry of Human Rights and Komnas HAM to form a Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF)," said Andreas.

The leadership of the DPR's Human Rights Commission hopes that the formation of the TGPF can provide a sense of justice for the victims. For this reason, Andreas encourages recommendations from the Ministry of Human Rights regarding the OCI circus case to be followed up immediately.

"So that this case becomes complete and provides a sense of justice for former OCI workers," explained the legislator from the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) I electoral district.

Regarding the alleged crime, Andreas emphasized that he had to wait for the results of the TGPF. This also includes the reason for the termination of the OcI circus legal case in 1999.

"We will see the results of the process carried out by TGPF," concluded Andreas.