East Timor defendant to walk free<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Indonesia's much criticized attempt to bring to justice
\nmilitary officers accused in the destruction of East Timor is
\nscheduled to end Tuesday with the highest-ranking soldier
\nimplicated in the bloodshed almost certain to walk free.<\/p>\n
The prosecution itself has asked that Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri be
\nacquitted - an outcome likely to add to outrage among local and
\ninternational rights groups, which have called the trials a
\nwhitewash.<\/p>\n
A stack of similar acquittals has hurt efforts to reform
\nIndonesia's notoriously brutal military and make it accountable
\nfor abuses in East Timor and elsewhere in Indonesia, including
\nthe separatist-minded province of Aceh, where the government
\nlaunched an offensive in May.<\/p>\n
\"This will give (the military) a new sense of impunity and
\nincrease their political leverage,\" said Hendardi, who heads
\nIndonesia's Human Rights and Legal Aid Association.<\/p>\n
\"If they can get away with it in East Timor, they will feel
\nthey can get away with it in Aceh,\" said Hendardi who like many
\nIndonesians goes by a single name.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, a Jakarta court is scheduled to deliver its
\nverdict in Damiri's trial on charges of crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n
East Timor was under Damiri's area of command when soldiers
\nand army-trained militia laid waste to the province after voters
\nopted for independence in a U.N. plebiscite in August, 1999.<\/p>\n
The territory finally became independent in May 2002. --AP<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-timor-defendant-to-walk-free-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }