Activists call for int'l human rights tribunal on East Timor

Activists call for int'l human rights tribunal on East Timor

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Human rights activists pledged on Monday to step up a global
campaign for the establishment of an international tribunal for
those involved in the mayhem in East Timor in 1999, saying
Indonesia's human rights court was inconsistent and not
independent.

"Having observed the unreliable proceedings of local trials
unfold, we want to launch a campaign to try those alleged to have
carried out human rights abuses in East Timor at an international
tribunal," Daniel Panjaitan, an activist at Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute, told a seminar here.

He said the whole trial process was untrustworthy, citing the
fact that even before the tribunal began, the attorney general
dropped charges against Gen. (ret) Wiranto, who was in charge of
the Indonesian Military (TNI) when the violence prevailed.

When the hearings began, he added, prosecutors were seemingly
reluctant to bring in many key witnesses. Only two victim
witnesses appeared in court.

Prosecutors were also unwilling to disclose links between
prointegration militias, the Army and the government, despite
their close affiliation, he said.

In a bizarre verdict, the ad hoc court sentenced on Wednesday
former East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares to three
years in jail, far below the minimum punishment of 10 years
according to Law No. 26/2000 on Human Rights Tribunal. A day
later, the court sparked fiercer criticism for acquitting former
East Timor Police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen and five
military officers from all charges.

"Court proceedings do not meet international standards. The
United Nations (UN) could bring such cases to an international
tribunal," Daniel said.

Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis agreed that the current trials
had too many flaws, ranging from weak evidence presented by
prosecutors to the fact that judges didn't carry out field checks
in East Timor.

"With such flaws, there is a growing hope to set up an
international tribunal," he said at the seminar.

He believed the international community would also consider
cutting loans for Indonesia because of the controversial
verdicts.

"I'm sure the U.S., the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and
the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) will question Indonesia
about the accountability of its human rights court before
deciding to issue loans," he said.

But Sidney Jones from the International Crisis Group said the
demand for an international tribunal might face resistance from
the UN Security Council, which is authorized to recommend whether
the trial takes place.

"The U.S. may not support the idea because it needs Indonesia
to support the war against terrorism. Russia and China may veto
the idea as they also have human rights abuse records," she said.

Supreme Justice Benyamin Mangkoedilaga supported Jones'
argument, saying that an international tribunal for human rights
abuses in East Timor was unlikely due to the nebis en idem
principle, which bars a person from standing a second trial for
the same charges.

Benyamin, former chairman of the team preparing the ad hoc
tribunal, added the human rights trials had met international
standards.

"The international tribunal for Rwanda was unavoidable because
it failed to set up human rights trials at home. This situation,
of course, is totally different from our own," he said.

"Remember, an international tribunal is only supplementary
should a domestic trial fail to proceed."

Benyamin said it was prosecutors who should be blamed for the
controversial verdicts.

"The judges have opened chances for prosecutors to support
their charges. But we cannot force the judges to decide other
than what they see in the court," he said.

Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda called
on the international community to refrain from commenting on the
ongoing human rights tribunal as the legal process is not over
yet.

"I hope foreign observers will not make immediate comments on
the continuing legal process," Hassan told a press conference on
Monday.

He underlined that the human rights tribunal in Jakarta may
have been the first in Asia and it was important to bear in mind
that Indonesia had no experience in handling such trials.

The minister dismissed speculation that the government had
intervened in the ad hoc tribunal.

During her meeting with visiting delegates of the United
States Congress later in the day, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri reiterated the government's stance to stay out of
the human rights tribunal process.

"We asked about the tribunal and she said it was the job for
the court," the head of the delegation Paul Cleveland said
afterwards.

However, he refused to comment on whether the recent verdicts
would affect the ongoing process to restore military ties with
Indonesia. The Congress banned military assistance to Indonesia
following the bloody 1999 mayhem in East Timor.