Eurico facing life sentence for murder, torture<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Eurico Guterres, former commander of the pro-Jakarta Aitarak
\nmilitia in East Timor, stood trial at the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court on charges of murder and torture in the attacks on
\nEast Timorese leaders before the 1999 ballot.<\/p>\n
The camouflage-clad Guterres was charged with torture and
\nmurder, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.<\/p>\n
According to the court's proceeding, Eurico was responsible
\nfor the attacks on the residences of proindependence East Timor
\nleaders Manuel Viego Carrascalao and Leandro Isaac which killed
\n12 civilians and the son of Carrascalao on April 17, 1999, some
\nfour months before the ballot was conducted.<\/p>\n
The government prosecutors said that the defendant was held
\nresponsible for the attack because he failed to prevent his
\nfollowers from attacking and delivered an address before the
\nmilitiamen, inciting them to violence against East Timorese
\nsupporting the territory's separation from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Eurico who wore his prointegration fighters (PPI) uniform in
\ncourt, pled not guilty to the prosecutor's charges.<\/p>\n
\"The indictment makes me laugh,\" he told the court which was
\npacked with his fellow militiamen, \"I was only a deputy commander
\nof PPI. It is not me but former president B.J. Habibie who should
\nbe held responsible for all crimes against humanity in East Timor
\nbecause the crimes were caused by his controversial decision.\"<\/p>\n
The former president was applauded by pro-democracy people
\nhere and the international community, but came under heavy fire
\nfrom the military and nationalists when he made an agreement with
\nthe UN for the East Timorese people to conduct a ballot, in which
\nsome 80 percent voted for freedom.<\/p>\n
In its other session, the ad hoc court examined former East
\nTimorese provincial police Insp. Gen. Timbul Silaen, a defendant
\nin the 1999 post-ballot mayhem in East Timor and also subpoenaed
\nseveral former government officials to testify about the violent
\nrampage.<\/p>\n
Judge Andi Samsan Nganro who presided over the court session,
\nordered prosecutor James Pardede to bring former foreign minister
\nAli Alatas, former coordinating minister for political and
\nsecurity affairs Feisal Tanjung and Agus Tarmizi of the Foreign
\nMinistry to the next session to testify about the multilateral
\ndeals that preceded the ballot.<\/p>\n
\"We ask Your Honor to summon the three witnesses because their
\nstatements will be crucial in unraveling the diplomatic deals
\nconcerning the East Timorese ballot. We bear the consequences on
\nour shoulders should their testimony implicate the defendants,\"
\nhe stated.<\/p>\n
Feisal, who established the former task force to publicize the
\nEast Timor ballot (P3TT), had been questioned by the former
\ninquiry committee (KPF) established by the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights (Komnas HAM) early in 2000 due to the existence of
\nthe \"Garnadi Paper\", a document urging systematic destruction in
\nEast Timor signed by Feisal's former assistant Maj. Gen. (ret)
\nGarnadi.<\/p>\n
Garnadi admitted that it was his signature on the document but
\ndenied knowledge of the content.<\/p>\n
Timbul told the court that the expedited announcement of the
\nresult of the independence ballot from the scheduled Sept. 7 to
\nSept. 4, had been the main reason for the consecutive attacks by
\nthe prointegration militia on proindependence supporters which
\nthe security forces failed to curb.<\/p>\n
He expected the court to find the reasons why the Indonesian
\ngovernment agreed with the decision to expedite the announcement
\ndate.<\/p>\n
The police, he said, who was in charge of security, had
\ncommenced Hanoin Lorosae operations to publicize the ballot and
\nto secure the announcement of the ballot.<\/p>\n
Komnas HAM member Koesparmono Irsan, who was coordinator of
\nthe Commission for Peace and Stability, testified in defense of
\nTimbul, claiming that the violence was partially a result of the
\ncommission's failure to disarm the militia groups.<\/p>\n
\"The riots were inevitable but there was not massive
\ndestruction,\" he said, adding that UNAMET should also be
\nresponsible for the failure because it was also tasked to disarm
\nthe militiamen.<\/p>\n
According to the May 5 tripartite agreement, UNAMET was
\nresponsible only for the administration of the ballot, while the
\nIndonesian National Police were responsible for all security
\nconcerns, including disarming the people.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/eurico-facing-life-sentence-for-murder-torture-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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