Towards Post-Transitional Justice: The Failures of Transitional Justice and the Roles of Civil Society in Indonesia

Abstract

When democratization took place in 1998 after three decades of authoritarianism in Indonesia, transitional justice became part of the nation’s agenda. With the nature of compromised political transitions, transitional justice brought together the interest of those who wished to challenge the repressive regime and those who wished to distant themselves from the old regime in order to return to politics. As the result, transitional justice measures were successfully adopted in the beginning of the political transition but failed to achieve its goals of breaking with the old regime and bringing justice to victims. Today, twenty years after the reformasi, the elements of politics are consolidated, including those elements coming from the old regime. The author refers to this transitional justice period as “post-transitional justice,” characterized by the extensive roles of civil society, in particular human rights groups, in setting the agenda since the beginning of the transition up until today when state-centered mechanisms are failing. These civil society groups shift strategies to work with communities and at local levels, which gives a strong character for post-transitional justice in Indonesia.