Rights court set to hand down sentence<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The country's landmark human rights tribunal will announce on
\nWednesday its first verdict regarding crimes against humanity
\nduring, before, and after the 1999 UN-administered independence
\nvote in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Former East Timor governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares will be
\nthe first of the 18 people brought to trial for alleged crimes
\nagainst humanity to have his fate determined.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors have demanded a near minimum sentence of 10 and a
\nhalf years jail for Abilio for failing to prevent the violence
\nsurrounding the vote for independence. The crime carries a
\nmaximum penalty of death, according to Law No. 26\/2000 on Rights
\nTribunals.<\/p>\n
The UN estimates that at least 1,000 East Timorese were killed
\nduring the widespread violence.<\/p>\n
The court also plans to announce the verdict of Brig. Gen.
\nTimbul Silaen, the former East Timor police chief, on Thursday.
\nLike Abilio, Timbul also faces 10 and a half years imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has come under international pressure to address
\nhuman rights abuses involving the military. Most of the 18
\ncharged are military officers. The ad hoc human rights court was
\ninitiated to avoid an international tribunal.<\/p>\n
The violence not only tarnished the country's image but also
\nled to an arms embargo and suspended military-to-military
\nrelations between Indonesia and the U.S. and its allies.<\/p>\n
At home, the establishment of the rights tribunal under a
\nPresidential Decree also drew criticism, ranging from the
\nrecruitment process of its judges to the court's failure to hear
\nfrom a large number of witnesses. Only two victim have testified
\nso far.<\/p>\n
On top of that, the tribunal raised eyebrows for failing to
\nbring Gen. (ret) Wiranto, the former Armed Forces chief believed
\nto be responsible for his subordinates' crimes, to justice.<\/p>\n
Ahead of Wednesday's verdict, East Timor President Xanana
\nGusmao, a former pro-independence leader, sent a letter to the
\npresiding judge urging that "Abilio should not be singled out as
\nthe one responsible" for the 1999 mayhem.<\/p>\n
A similar letter was sent by another pro-independence leader,
\nManuel Viegas Carrascalao, to judges trying Timbul's case, saying
\nthe police had taken all steps to protect the East Timorese,
\nincluding him, when pro-Jakarta militia attacked his house on
\nApril, 17, 1999.<\/p>\n
Komariah Emong, one of the judges trying Abilio's case, said
\nthe judges would take Gusmao's appeal into consideration.<\/p>\n
While Andi Samsan Nganro, one of the judges handling Timbul's
\ncase, said that "what we (the judges) will decide has nothing to
\ndo with these letters".<\/p>",
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