Robinson set to head probe on East Timor<\/p>\n
UNITED NATIONS (Agencies): Mary Robinson, the UN High
\nCommissioner for Human Rights, was appointed on Thursday to
\ninvestigate atrocities in East Timor and said she would have
\nspecialists on the ground sometime next week.<\/p>\n
Secretary-General Kofi Annan formally gave Robinson the
\nresponsibility on Thursday after the 53-nation Human Rights
\nCommission voted for the inquiry in Geneva on Monday despite
\nobjections from Indonesia which has rejected the probe.<\/p>\n
Robinson told a news conference there were many witnesses who
\nwould identify the perpetrators of the violence, which included
\nIndonesian army personnel as well as armed militia. The militia
\nkilled, raped, looted and burned to protest an overwhelming vote
\nfor independence cast by East Timorese in an Aug. 30 UN-organized
\nballot.<\/p>\n
\"There are a very large number of witnesses to violations,\"
\nthe commissioner. They know who the perpetrators are. They know
\ntheir names. A lot of evidence will be compiled,\" Robinson added.<\/p>\n
\"I think that is the first time that individual members of the
\narmy will be identified in the context of investigations and that
\nitself is a significant step and not an easy step for the
\ncountry,\" Robinson said in answer to queries.<\/p>\n
Robinson is to submit her report by Dec. 31, after which Annan
\nwill give it to the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.
\nThe council could set up a UN war crimes tribunal but probably
\nwill not have support from China, Russia and other nations to do
\nthis.<\/p>\n
She said forensic experts and other human rights officials
\nwould be sent to East Timor next week after which she would name
\nthe leaders of the commission.<\/p>\n
Robinson said she did not believe her teams would be allowed
\nto go to West Timor, where she hoped Indonesia's National Human
\nRights Commission, known as Komnas HAM, would conduct inquiries
\nin cooperation with her group.<\/p>\n
She said she had spoken to numerous refugees during her recent
\nvisit to Darwin, Australia, and was told about how militia forced
\nEast Timorese civilians at gunpoint into West Timor and even to
\nother islands in the Indonesian archipelago.<\/p>\n
\"I heard alarming allegations that even in the boats taking
\nthem, women were raped constantly and that in three camps there
\ncontinued to be a pattern of rape and assault,\" Robinson said.<\/p>\n
\"I know there is great concern that in the refugee camps the
\nmilitia appear to be in control ... and there is a worry they are
\neven looking for those who are identified pro-independence
\nactivist or their families,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Robinson said the United Nations had a good start in being
\nable to trace people because of voter registration rolls that
\naccounted for 98 percent of the adult population.<\/p>\n
She was asked repeatedly how valid an investigation by an
\nIndonesian rights commission would be. She said she had met
\nmembers of the Jakarta group and they were \"taking the reports
\nvery seriously,\" including involvement of the military.<\/p>\n
\"I believe it is very important that Indonesia has established
\nthis commission,\" Robinson said. \"I think it is extremely
\nimportant that Indonesia is taking ownership of the problem of
\nthe violations in East Timor and is setting in train a
\nprocedure.\"<\/p>\n
An Indonesian team \"could go immediately to West Timor with
\nfull access\", she said. \"We are very concerned about the security
\nof people who fled there from East Timor and about the situation
\nin the camps,\" she added.<\/p>\n
Komnas HAM's inquiry would be \"confined to the post-ballot
\nperiod\" after Aug. 30, when East Timorese voted for independence
\nin a UN referendum.<\/p>\n
The international commission would \"begin its analysis from
\nwhen the vote was first announced in January\", she said.<\/p>\n
UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said UN officials in East Timor were
\nalready investigating the site of 10 charred bodies discovered by
\na Reuters correspondent on Tuesday in a small pick up truck in a
\nfield west of Dili, the capital.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/robinson-set-to-head-probe-on-east-timor-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}