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A screenshot of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) head Hasto Atmojo Suroyo reporting on the progress of compensation applications of terror victims during the online commemoration of the International Day of Commemoration and Respect for Victims of Terrorism on Saturday (August 21, 2021). (ANTARA/Muhammad Jasuma Fadholi) - 

The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) is committed to securing terror victims' rights and compensation, the agency's chairperson said on the International Day of Commemoration and Respect for Victims of Terrorism on Saturday.

"The LPSK reported the progress to fulfill terrorism victims' rights and compensation according to Government Regulation No. 35 of 2020 on compensation rights for victims and witness is ongoing," LPSK chairperson Hasto Atmojo Suroyo reported at the online commemoration event here on Saturday.

A total of Rp39.25 billion (around US$2.70 million) in compensation was successfully secured for 215 victims of terrorist acts due to quick action by the LPSK and the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) in compiling data on past terror victims, he informed.

The agency is currently advocating compensation for 413 victims for this year, he added.

"We hope the 413 victims' compensation applications on this year could be disbursed by the end of 2021," he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected LPSK's efforts to secure compensation for past terror victims, particularly applicants living outside Java Island, Suroyo informed.

He appealed to applicants awaiting the disbursement of compensation to have patience and affirmed the LPSK's commitment to advocating their compensation rights.

Suroyo then paid his respects to terror victims and lauded them for surpassing the difficult task of surviving a terrorist act.

"I hope we can learn from their persistence to living on, particularly during this difficult time we currently face," Suroyo remarked.

The commemoration on Saturday was attended by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, head of BNPT, Boy Rafli Amar, representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for Indonesia, Collie Brown, Governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, terrorism survivors, and deradicalization partners from across Indonesia//ANT