UN, Indonesia honor victims of terrorism

A member of the Indonesian Christian Youth Movement (GAMKI) places a flower on a poster of Intan Olivia Marbun during a demonstration in Medan, North Sumatra. Intan died at the age of 3 in a bombing at Oikumene Church in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Nov. 15, 2016. Antara/Irsan Mulyadi via The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

JAKARTA — The United Nations joined with Indonesia’s Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) on Saturday in a peace initiative called the Guyub Project to honor victims of terrorism in the country as the world observed the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.

The UN and the LPSK held several online events where survivors of terrorist attacks shared their stories. The LPSK also instated a national moment of silence to be held every year in recognition of those who had been harmed or killed by terrorism.

“A fundamental component of any effective response to terrorism is upholding the rights and needs of victims and survivors,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) country manager for Indonesia Collie F. Brown said in a statement on Friday.

“This annual occasion provides the UN and our close partners an opportunity to stop and reflect on the experiences of victims and survivors, as well as to ask ourselves some hard questions. What can we do to better recognize their tremendous sacrifice?” he added.

LPSK head Hasto Atmojo Suroto said the recently issued Government Regulation No. 35/2020 had increased the government’s support for victims of terrorism.

The regulation provides a path for victims and their families to seek state compensation through the LPSK without having to obtain a court order.

“With these more facilitative laws, the LPSK and other related agencies can directly take quick steps to provide a pathway towards optimizing the fulfillment of victims’ rights,” Hasto noted in the statement, adding that the regulation sought to address disparities in justice among victims of terrorism.