Dili to pardon militiamen

Dili to pardon militiamen

EAST TIMOR: Parliament is expected to pass legislation next month granting amnesty to anti-independence militiamen convicted of minor crimes during violence in the territory in 1999, East Timor's Prime Minister said on Tuesday.

Mari Alkatiri said the laws would allow courts to pardon anyone found guilty of nonviolent crimes or those coerced into joining pro-Jakarta militias in the rampage in August 1999 that accompanied the territory's vote for independence from Indonesian rule.

"It is important to send a clear signal to those people, militia or not, that amnesty is part of our culture in this country," Alkatiri said.

Militiamen convicted of serious crimes -- such as murder and rape -- would not be eligible for amnesty, but their sentences could be reduced, Alkatiri said.

More than 20 people in East Timor have been convicted for the violence.--AP