East Timor judge issues arrest warrant for Wiranto<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A United Nations-backed East Timor tribunal issued an arrest
\nwarrant on Monday for former Indonesian Military chief Gen. (ret)
\nWiranto for his alleged crimes against humanity in 1999 when East
\nTimor broke from Jakarta's rule.<\/p>\n
Responding to the charge, Wiranto, the Golkar Party
\npresidential candidate, maintained his innocence and said
\ncontinuing speculation about his legal status was \"character
\nassassination.\"<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has refused to accept the
\njurisdiction of the East Timor court, which -- unlike those for
\nthe former Yugoslavia or Rwanda -- was not constituted by the UN
\nSecurity Council as a fully fledged war crimes tribunal. It made
\nit clear on Monday that it had no intention of arresting or
\nextraditing those charged by the tribunal.<\/p>\n
The warrant comes more than a year after Wiranto was indicted
\nby prosecutors from the East Timor Serious Crimes Unit and less
\nthan a month after he won the presidential nomination for the
\nGolkar Party.<\/p>\n
Golkar, the political vehicle of former autocrat Soeharto, was
\nthe winner of the April 5 parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n
\"The issuance of the Wiranto warrant is an important step in
\nour continuing efforts to bring justice to those responsible for
\nthe violence against the civilian population of East Timor in
\n1999,\" said Serious Crimes Unit special prosecutor Nicholas
\nKoumijan in a statement.<\/p>\n
Wiranto was Indonesian Military chief when military-backed
\nmilitiamen waged a murderous campaign against independence
\nsupporters in East Timor, then an Indonesian territory.<\/p>\n
More than 1,000 people died in bloody fighting at the time,
\nwith the bulk of the deaths blamed on the militias.<\/p>\n
Wiranto has consistently denied committing any human rights
\nviolations, saying an Indonesian judicial panel found him
\ninnocent of such accusations.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that the issue came to the surface again after I
\nbecame a presidential candidate. I think this is an attempt at
\ncharacter assassination,\" he said after the warrant was issued.<\/p>\n
Wiranto has repeatedly said he has good relations with some of
\nEast Timor's top leaders.<\/p>\n
The indictment brought against Wiranto in February 2003
\ncharged him \"with command responsibility for murder, deportation
\nand persecution committed in the context of a widespread and
\nsystematic attack on the civilian population in East Timor\".<\/p>\n
It argues that under international law, commanders are
\ncriminally responsible if they know of crimes against humanity by
\nthose under their control and fail to act to stop them.<\/p>\n
However, Indonesia immediately rejected the arrest warrant
\nagainst Wiranto, saying East Timor courts had no jurisdiction
\nover Indonesians.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue to reject the jurisdiction of the East Timor
\n(Serious Crimes Unit) unit over our Indonesian national
\n(Wiranto),\" Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman
\nMarty A. Natalegawa told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"We won't get crazy about (the warrant) because this is not
\nthe first time they have came up with such a ruling,\" Marty said.
\nIndonesia's focus would remain on its own ongoing legal process
\ndealing with human rights violations in East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Wiranto has never been indicted as a suspect,\" Marty
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Asked, by Reuters whether this arrest warrant should be
\nhonored by Indonesia, East Timor prosecutor Koumijan said: \"Every
\ngovernment has that duty.\"<\/p>\n
\"My hope is that governments will cooperate in bringing him to
\ncourt,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The East Timor Serious Crimes Unit and court were set up with
\nUN backing and advice and include international staff. The judge
\nwho issued the warrant is an American.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-timor-judge-issues-arrest-warrant-for-wiranto-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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