East Timor cases will always haunt RI: Activist

East Timor cases will always haunt RI: Activist

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Pressure for the establishment of an international tribunal to
try Indonesian Military personnel accused of gross human rights
violations in East Timor will never end following the poor result
of a series of trials by the country's ad hoc human rights
tribunal, an activist says.

Hendardi, chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human
Rights Association (PBHI), said on Saturday that calls by the
international community to bring military personnel to an
international court was "logical as Indonesia's judiciary has
failed to convince them" that justice was being served.

"East Timor is not be the only country in the world that will
continue calling for the establishment of an international
tribunal (to try Indonesian Military officers accused of human
rights violations there)," Hendardi told The Jakarta Post over
the weekend.

East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has called for the
establishment of an international tribunal in a neutral country
to try Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel allegedly involved in
the 1999 mayhem.

In response to Alkatiri's statement, foreign ministry
spokesman Marty Natalegawa said on Sunday that the Indonesian
government had summoned the East Timorese ambassador to clarify
Dili's request.

Marty said Ambassador Arlindo Marcal would fulfill the summons
on Monday.

"We would like to seek a clarification as to the request, as
it goes against our countries' stance toward developing
relations," Marty told The Jakarta Post by phone.

He asserted that Alkatiri's statement, if true, would be "a
source of concern" for Jakarta.

"We consider the statement to be a premature judgement on the
ongoing ad hoc human rights tribunal here," he said, adding that
some of the cases remained unresolved pending appeals.

Eighteen civilian leaders and security personnel, including
three Army generals, were charged with gross human rights
violations for their failure to prevent a violent rampage carried
out by pro-Jakarta militia members and their military backers in
1999.

The Jakarta ad hoc human rights tribunal, which was set up
under strong international pressure, has so far acquitted 12
defendants and convicted five with jail sentences of three to 10
years, including former militia commander Eurico Guterres and
former East Timor governor Abilio Soares who remain free pending
appeal at the Supreme Court.

Alkatiri said after a meeting with Gusmao on Friday that he
was not satisfied with the prosecution of 18 civilian leaders and
security personnel.

He also said that he and several ministers would discuss the
issue of an international tribunal with President Megawati
Soekarnoputri during their visit to Jakarta on June 10.

Hendardi, who once served as a defense lawyer of Xanana Gusmao
before he became East Timor president, said Alkatiri's comment,
which contradicted a previous statement by Gusmao, reflected
mounting pressure from East Timor people for fair trials for
perpetrators of the bloodshed.

Gusmao had said earlier that East Timor would prefer to
maintain ties with Indonesia rather than pursue the trials of
those accused of human rights violations in 1999.

"The United Nations gave Indonesia a chance to try the
perpetrators of violence in East Timor. Unfortunately, Indonesia
squandered the opportunity," Hendardi said.

Hendardi said the tribunal was merely a trick to avoid an
international tribunal to try the East Timor cases.

He admitted it was not easy to get the United Nations to set
up an international tribunal for the East Timor case.

"But Indonesia cannot escape from this issue as the UN might
set up an international tribunal due to the poor results of the
country's ad hoc court," Hendardi warned.

The United Nations set up an international tribunal to
prosecute those accused of fomenting the 1994 Rwandan genocide
after Rwanda failed hold fair trials itself.

The appeals court still has an opportunity to correct the
verdicts of the East Timor cases, Hendardi said.

"But I think it would be a bit difficult because most of the
defendants have been declared innocent," he said.