East Timor suspects to meet summons: Marzuki
East Timor suspects to meet summons: Marzuki
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman confirmed on
Saturday that two ex-militia members, allegedly implicated in
last year's East Timor mayhem, would appear for questioning on
Monday.
He told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration
ceremony of a new building at Surabaya University's School of Law
in the East Java capital of Surabaya that the two were now under
special police protection.
"We have located their whereabouts and have coordinated with
the East Nusa Tenggara Prosecutor's Office to help facilitate
their presence in Jakarta," Marzuki told Antara.
Earlier, on Friday, the head of a joint team investigating the
rights abuses in East Timor, M.A. Rachman, said here that the
Attorney General's Office would present the suspects residing
outside Jakarta at the office's expense.
The two ex-militia members, Izidio Manek and Martinus Bere,
are among the 19 suspects announced by the Attorney General's
Office earlier this month, including slain militia leader Olivio
Mendoza Moruk, who was found dead days after the announcement.
Marzuki earlier admitted that the protection of the two was to
prevent them from being the target of an attack similar to what
had happened to Olivio.
Olivio was reportedly killed following an argument between ex-
militia members sheltered in refugee camps in Atambua, East Nusa
Tenggara, and locals over a gambling issue.
Olivio's death was believed to be the catalyst for an attack
on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
office in Atambua, which resulted in the death of at least three
relief workers and left dozens others injured.
Marzuki said his office intended to bring the East Timor
rights offenders to court, now that the case was under the
scrutiny of the international community.
"We cannot evade a trial of the case as we will have to face
international reaction as a consequence. So, we have expedited
and facilitated the summons to accelerate the investigation
process," he said.
Separately, on Saturday, one of the 16 lawyers representing
seven military and police officers, who are part of the 19
suspects in East Timor mayhem, confirmed their willingness to
meet the summonses for questioning at the Attorney General's
Office.
Lawyer Yan Djuanda Saputra said his clients were willing to
cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the rights abuse
case.
"Since the beginning of the investigation last April, our
clients have never failed to answer the summonses, even once.
They comply with the law and will never break their commitments,"
he told The Jakarta Post here on Saturday.
The seven include former Udayana Military Commander overseeing
Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara and then East Timor Maj. Gen.
Adam Damiri; former East Timor police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul
Silaen; former East Timor military chief Brig. Gen. Tono
Suratman; Tono's successor, Col. M. Noer Muis; and former chief
of the Tribuana Security Task Force Lt. Col. Yayat Sudradjat.
(bby)
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman confirmed on
Saturday that two ex-militia members, allegedly implicated in
last year's East Timor mayhem, would appear for questioning on
Monday.
He told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration
ceremony of a new building at Surabaya University's School of Law
in the East Java capital of Surabaya that the two were now under
special police protection.
"We have located their whereabouts and have coordinated with
the East Nusa Tenggara Prosecutor's Office to help facilitate
their presence in Jakarta," Marzuki told Antara.
Earlier, on Friday, the head of a joint team investigating the
rights abuses in East Timor, M.A. Rachman, said here that the
Attorney General's Office would present the suspects residing
outside Jakarta at the office's expense.
The two ex-militia members, Izidio Manek and Martinus Bere,
are among the 19 suspects announced by the Attorney General's
Office earlier this month, including slain militia leader Olivio
Mendoza Moruk, who was found dead days after the announcement.
Marzuki earlier admitted that the protection of the two was to
prevent them from being the target of an attack similar to what
had happened to Olivio.
Olivio was reportedly killed following an argument between ex-
militia members sheltered in refugee camps in Atambua, East Nusa
Tenggara, and locals over a gambling issue.
Olivio's death was believed to be the catalyst for an attack
on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
office in Atambua, which resulted in the death of at least three
relief workers and left dozens others injured.
Marzuki said his office intended to bring the East Timor
rights offenders to court, now that the case was under the
scrutiny of the international community.
"We cannot evade a trial of the case as we will have to face
international reaction as a consequence. So, we have expedited
and facilitated the summons to accelerate the investigation
process," he said.
Separately, on Saturday, one of the 16 lawyers representing
seven military and police officers, who are part of the 19
suspects in East Timor mayhem, confirmed their willingness to
meet the summonses for questioning at the Attorney General's
Office.
Lawyer Yan Djuanda Saputra said his clients were willing to
cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the rights abuse
case.
"Since the beginning of the investigation last April, our
clients have never failed to answer the summonses, even once.
They comply with the law and will never break their commitments,"
he told The Jakarta Post here on Saturday.
The seven include former Udayana Military Commander overseeing
Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara and then East Timor Maj. Gen.
Adam Damiri; former East Timor police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul
Silaen; former East Timor military chief Brig. Gen. Tono
Suratman; Tono's successor, Col. M. Noer Muis; and former chief
of the Tribuana Security Task Force Lt. Col. Yayat Sudradjat.
(bby)