The State Admits Gross Human Rights Violations, Is It Wednesday, 11 January 2023, Indonesian President Joko Widodo held a press conference regarding the official state statement on 12 cases of gross human rights violations in Indonesia. In his speech, Jokowi expressed his acknowledgement and regretted the past gross human rights violations. For the first time, the state has publicly and officially stated its recognition of the 12 cases of gross human rights violations, namely the 1965-1966 incident (incident 65), the mysterious shooting incident 1982-1985 (Petrus case), the Talangsari incident in Lampung 1989, the incident of disappearance of persons the 1997-1998 period, the May 1998 riots, the Trisakti and Semanggi I – II incidents 1998-1999, the witch doctor killings 1998-1999, the Wasior incident in Papua in 2001-2002, and the Wamena incident in Papua in 2003. Three incidents of serious human rights violations in Aceh are also included, namely the Rumoh Geudong and Pos Satti's (Aceh in 1989), the Jambo Keupok incident in Aceh in 2003, and the Simpang KKA incident in Aceh in 1999.

For the Aceh Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (KontraS), this acknowledgement is insufficient to indicate that the state has truly apologized for the several tragedies. As a form of accountability, the state should formally apologize to the victims of these gross human rights violations. This state recognition must also be followed up with a series of actions to fulfil the victims' rights, starting from the right to truth, justice, and remedy to non-repetition. Everything promised in the country's official statement regarding recovery efforts and guarantees of non-recurrence are in stark contrast to what the government has done in recent years. Recommendations for victim recovery have been submitted by several state institutions since the early days of reform, from the National Commission on Human Rights to the Supreme Court. However, the recommendation was never implemented.

Meanwhile, statements regarding the state's promise to guarantee non-recurrence in the future also deserve criticism. It is important to look again at how the state has failed to reform institutions structurally and culturally, especially reforms in the security sector. From the policy of placing active military officers in civilian institutions to acquitting defendants in cases of gross human rights violations, this is all a paradox to what was promised.

In principle, KontraS Aceh urges the full fulfilment of victims' rights by prioritizing truth disclosure, justice and their right to reparation. If the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mahfud Md, has repeatedly said that the existence of a non-judicial settlement team will not negate the judicial process, this is even more surprising. Why does the state, on the one hand, admit that gross human rights violations have taken place, while on the other hand, the state (also) through the Attorney General's Office has so far rejected the results of Komnas HAM's investigation into these cases on the pretext of insufficient evidence? "The two statements of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam) (the PPHAM team's non-judicial work and the stagnation of the judicial process) are very ambiguous with each other. Why does the state express regret over incidents of human rights violations, for which it considers that there is not enough evidence to be processed judicially," said the Coordinator of KontraS Aceh, Azharul Husna.

"If the state repeatedly promises remedies for victims of human rights violations without taking concrete steps, especially this statement made at the end of President Jokowi's reign, we should suspect that this is just political merchandise," he concluded.[]