Dili upset by verdict on RI general

Dili upset by verdict on RI general

BANGKOK: Dili said on Thursday it was upset by what it sees as a lenient prison term for a top Indonesian general over the bloodshed during its independence vote in 1999, but said it will not press for an international tribunal.

East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta told Reuters Indonesia's ad hoc human rights court should have jailed Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, the regional commander at the time of the violence, for longer than the three year sentence it handed down.

"We are obviously thoroughly disappointed," Horta said during a visit to Thailand.

"This issue is not just an East Timorese responsibility, it is also the international community's. It's countries like the United States, the European Union and others who should talk to Indonesia and find other alternatives, short of a tribunal, that will give justice to the people of East Timor."

Damiri was the last of 18 people to be tried by the court, which has acquitted most other suspects and handed out light sentences to those convicted, drawing widespread criticism from international and domestic human rights groups. -- Reuters