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