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.