Dossiers of 14 suspects in E. Timor done

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Monday that the team investigating the human rights abuses in East Timor last year had completed the dossiers on 14 of 23 suspects in the case.

"The dossiers will be filed with an ad hoc human rights tribunal which has yet to be established," he said after the inauguration of a team to investigate human rights abuses in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

The joint team on East Timor, which comprises prosecutors, the military police and the home affairs officials, began investigation in April and named 19 suspects during the first part of its investigation.

Several high-ranking military officers were on the list, including, among others, former Udayana Military commander Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, former East Timor military commander Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman and former East Timor Police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen.

Another four were named in early October, including militia leaders Eurico Guterres, Vasco da Cruz, Motornus and Lt. Col. Endar Priyatno, the former military commander of the East Timor capital of Dili.

But one of the suspects, Olivio Mendoza Moruk, was murdered not long after he was named a suspect.

His death triggered a mob attack which killed three United Nations humanitarian aid workers in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sept. 6.

Pending the deliberation of a new bill on a human rights trial, the team was based on the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1/1991 on a human rights tribunal.

The regulation stipulates that the investigation period is three months and can only be extended once. That period ended on Oct. 17.

However, Marzuki said, the newly passed Law on human rights, which is now awaiting the President's ratification, gives leeway for the team to continue investigation.

"The new law gives us time till mid-December to complete the investigation and make dossiers on Izidio Manek and Martinus Bere," he said, referring to two militiamen.

He said the two suspects were currently in Atambua.

Separately in Bali, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri met Chilean President Ricardo Lagos in Kuta on Monday.

The Chilean president, who arrived in Bali on Sunday, said he would visit East Timor the following morning.

"Chili has troops in East Timor under the umbrella of the United Nations, and I'm going to say hello to them. I think it is extremely important to explain our purpose to the Indonesian government," Lagos said in a news conference after the meeting.

"President Wahid asked me to come to Indonesia and explain the purpose of the visit to East Timor. So I want to clarify it with Indonesian authorities," he said.

There are some 40 Chilean soldiers in East Timor.

Meanwhile, Indonesian authorities in East Nusa Tenggara were making final preparations for the arrival of a UN Security Council team on Tuesday.

Provincial police chief Brig. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika said all necessary measures had been taken to ensure the situation was in order.

Nevertheless he said there was no additional reinforcements and that it was being handled by those stationed in the province.

Governor Piet A. Tallo said he hopes an affirmative decision would be taken by the visiting delegation.

"We hope they can yield a fresh decision," he said adding that the people of the province had endured much and had also suffered in helping the some 130,000 refugees in the province. (lem/zen/bby)