When a law clearing the way for ad hoc courts to try human-rights violations was passed in Indonesia last November, some saw it as a sign that high-ranking military officers would finally be punished for the many abuses committed by the nation's armed forces.
Previously, military human-rights violations had either been ignored or tried as "ordinary" crimes. Only low-ranking soldiers were punished and they usually received light sentences.
Now, it was argued, a law spelling out severe penalties for crimes against humanity (murder, torture, etc. when committed as an instrument of government policy) meant that those who planned and directed violations could also be prosecuted.