UN may hold int'l inquiry on E. Timor abuses<\/p>\n
UNITED NATIONS (Agencies): A recent amendment to the
\nIndonesian constitution might force the United Nations to hold an
\ninternational inquiry into human rights abuses in East Timor, a
\nUN spokesman said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Fred Eckhard said that until now, the UN had
\nbelieved Indonesia \"would undertake a serious and credible
\ninvestigation\" of crimes committed before it handed the territory
\nover to UN administration last year.<\/p>\n
But last week the People's Consultative Assembly amended the
\n1945 Constitution to prevent an individual from being prosecuted
\nunder laws that did not exist when a crime was committed.<\/p>\n
The amendment created an uproar among local and international
\nrights groups, which feared it would be used to prevent the
\nprosecution of military officers for human rights violations in
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
\"We'll have to see what happens with this idea for an
\namnesty,\" Eckhard said as quoted by AFP on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"But if it were to go forward, I think that would probably
\nforce us to reconsider our position concerning the need for an
\ninternational investigation of these abuses.\"<\/p>\n
He recalled that the Indonesian authorities had said they
\nwould carry out \"an internal review of the excesses of the
\nmilitary and the militia in East Timor\".<\/p>\n
At the outset, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan felt \"that we
\nshould let Indonesia deal with it,\" Eckhard said.<\/p>\n
\"When the secretary general visited Indonesia he met with the
\nattorney general,\" he added.<\/p>\n
\"He was convinced that the attorney general, who had
\npreviously been a human rights activist in the country, had good
\ncredibility in the human rights community, and that they would
\nundertake a serious and credible investigation.\"<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Attorney General's Office has already postponed
\nnaming suspects in their investigation into the case because it
\nfeels it needs stronger legal arguments to prosecute them as a
\nresult of the constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson
\nsaid the UN would unilaterally call an international war crimes
\ntribunal if Jakarta failed to bring the perpetrators of the Timor
\nviolence to trial.<\/p>\n
Refugees<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Jakarta, the Indonesia foreign ministry
\ncondemned an attack on three humanitarian workers which occurred
\nat a refugee camp in West Timor on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the foreign ministry said it was opposed to
\nthe violence which left the three UN High Commissioner for
\nRefugees (UNHCR) workers badly beaten after trying to distribute
\nrelief supplies to East Timorese refugees at a camp.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesian police, the provincial government of East Nusa
\nTenggara and the Indonesian Armed Forces shall investigate the
\nincident in cooperation with the UNHCR.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesian government rejects any attempt to politicize
\nby any quarter who seek to exploit the incident for political
\nends,\" the foreign ministry said.<\/p>\n
The UNHCR on Wednesday suspended operations in West Timor
\nafter three of its workers were attacked with machetes, clubs and
\nstones.<\/p>\n
UNHCR claimed the Indonesian military did nothing to stop
\nmilitia gangs from their attacks.<\/p>\n
\"The militias are allowed to operate with impunity and make a
\nmockery of statements by responsible officials in Jakarta
\nguaranteeing security for aid workers and refugees,\" Soren
\nJessen-Petersen, assistant high commissioner for refugees, said
\nin Geneva.<\/p>\n
The attack occurred at a camp 130-kilometers from the
\nprovincial capital of Kupang. It is one of dozens of camps and
\nsettlements still housing the refugees who remain in West Timor.<\/p>\n
The agency said it was taking the unusual step of suspending
\nall its operations in the Indonesian province as a result.<\/p>\n
\"It is something that is not done lightly,\" UNHCR spokesman
\nRon Redmond told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n
He said the three UNHCR workers required hospital treatment
\nfollowing the attack Tuesday when they were distributing plastic
\nsheeting to refugees.<\/p>\n
\"One of the UN staff had his head held underwater in a rice
\npaddy until he choked,\" said UN spokesman Fred Eckhard in New
\nYork.<\/p>\n
It was the worst of more than 100 recorded cases of harassment
\nand intimidation against aid workers and refugees since last
\nSeptember, Redmond said.<\/p>\n
UNHCR activities could resume depending on the results of the
\ninvestigation and whether Indonesian authorities provide
\nsufficient assurances that they will protect workers and
\nrefugees, he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/un-may-hold-intl-inquiry-on-e-timor-abuses-1447893297",
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