House of Representatives’ legislator Bambang Dwi Hartono urged the National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) to accelerate the disbursement of compensation to victims of terrorist acts in Indonesia.
“From around 1,384 victims that have been identified, 642 victims have received official recognition, though only 215 victims have received compensation,” Hartono stated during a meeting session with BNPT officials at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
Hartono remarked he also voiced this expectation during meeting sessions with the anti-terror agency in 2021.
The legislator expressed optimism that the budget for disbursement of the remaining unpaid compensations would be allocated in the 2022 state budget revision.
“Several victims had yet to receive their rights, and they have waited for a long time, with some of them having even waiting for 10 years,” Hartono remarked.
Meanwhile, BNPT Head Boy Rafli Amar noted that the agency had collaborated with the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) for disbursement of the compensation.
“Next-of-kin and beneficiaries of killed victims and victims, who suffered major injuries, are prioritised for the compensation disbursement,” Amar revealed.
The agency head admitted that victims with minor injuries are not prioritised for the compensation, and any effort to expand the compensation coverage for them will not be supported.
“To our knowledge, the compensation fund allocated in 2021 is focused on beneficiaries of killed victims,” he noted.
The agency head informed that from 2018 to 2021, the BNPT had been successful in identifying a total of 1,384 Indonesian and foreign national victims of terrorist acts scattered in 15 provinces in the country.
The agency had also disbursed compensation worth Rp39 billion (US$2.7 million) to 215 victims of terrorist acts in Indonesia, he added.
Source: Antara News