'E. Timor might not seek UN court to try militias'

'E. Timor might not seek UN court to try militias'

Agence France-Presse, Dili, East Timor

East Timor may not seek a United Nations tribunal to try cases of
militia atrocities three years ago even if Indonesia's human
rights court fails to deliver justice, its foreign minister said
Monday.

Jose Ramos-Horta said the government is considering an
alternative solution to satisfy the public's demand for justice,
taking into account East Timor's good relations with Indonesia.

"We have to think about the consequences if we are to demand
an international tribunal, what problems will emerge especially
as far as our relations with Indonesia are concerned," he told
reporters.

Ramos-Horta said his ministry would meet President Xanana
Gusmao to discuss an alternative solution should the ongoing
rights trials in Jakarta fail to satisfy East Timorese demands
for justice.

"Maybe it won't be an international tribunal but an idea of
justice, although not 100 percent justice," he said. He did not
elaborate.

Pro-Jakarta militias, armed and organized by the Indonesian
military, waged a bloody campaign of terror in which tens of
people were killed before and after East Timor's vote on Aug. 30,
1999, to break away from Indonesia.

Indonesia has set up the human rights court to try the
atrocities to deflect international pressure for an international
tribunal.

Ramos-Horta described relations with Indonesia as "very good"
but said East Timor would not forget the 1999 militia violence.

"We realize that the public, non-governmental organizations
demand justice," the foreign minister said.

"As the president has said many times, justice must not only
be delivered to East Timorese who joined militia groups but more
importantly, to the leaders in Jakarta, those generals and
colonels who now remain free," he said.

In July Gusmao received red carpet treatment when he made his
first visit to Indonesia since his country became independent on
May 20 after 31 months of UN stewardship.

A total of 18 people have been tried or are still on trial in
Indonesia's human rights court for alleged gross human rights
violations in East Timor in 1999.

In widely criticized verdicts, the human rights court has
already acquitted six officers, including the former East Timor
police chief, and sentenced the former provincial governor to
just three years in jail.