EU calls for rights trial

EU calls for rights trial

LISBON (Reuters): The European Union presidency congratulated
the United Nations and Indonesia on Friday for reporting on
rights abuses in East Timor last year and called for suspects to
be brought to trial.

"The international community, through the United Nations, has
the responsibility to ensure these violations are investigated
and those responsible are brought to trial," said a statement
issued in Portugal, which currently holds the revolving European
Union presidency.

A nine-day probe in East Timor by a U.N. panel late last year
found evidence of systematic killings and arson by militias,
backed by the Indonesian military, after the territory voted for
independence on August 30 last year.

Another investigation in Indonesia linked the country's former
armed forces chief and several top generals to violence in East
Timor last year.