Funding for E. Timor militias came from state: Witness

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Money to fund prointegration militias to launch a campaign against independence supporters in East Timor three years ago had come from the former Indonesian province's administration budget, a former official said.

"There was an amount set aside from the provincial budget that was used to pay the voluntary security force," former East Timor provincial secretary Raja Karina Brahmana told a human rights trial hearing at the Central Jakarta district court on Thursday.

The vigilantes, set up to enforce security at village level, were later known as prointegration militia groups.

"They were not paid on a regular basis but only when they performed a task," Brahmana said.

He added the tasks could range from conducting night village patrols to helping police ensure security during huge rallies and events. Brahmana could not say how large the force was.

He was testifying at the trial of Timbul Silaen, who was the East Timor Police chief when the violence erupted. Timbul is one of 18 military, police and civilians who have been named as suspects in the East Timor debacle for failing to prevent the violence that left over 100 dead.

Portuguese Ambassador to Indonesia Ana Gomes was among those attending the session, which was adjourned until next Thursday.

In a separate human rights trial hearing at the district court on Thursday, judges heard four witnesses testifying for former East Timor governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, who is being tried for alleged human rights violations in East Timor before, during and after the 1999 referendum. He is charged with responsibility for violations by the civilian regents of Liquica and Covalima, Leonito Martins and Herman Sedyono.

Witness Basilio Dias Araujo, a negotiator for prointegration groups in East Timor during the 1999 referendum, denied on Friday that explosive violence had been sparked off in East Timor on Sept. 4, 1999, because nearly 80 percent of the East Timorese voting population had rejected autonomy on Aug. 30, and wished to separate from Indonesia.

"East Timorese regencies found evidence of violations carried out by staff of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) during the entire voting process," the former translator to Abilio told the hearing, adding that the people demanded a clarification from UNAMET over the matter.

In response to the demand, Basilio said, a "trial" headed by a panel of three UN-appointed judges, presided over by Judge Kriegler of South Africa, was held inside the UNAMET compound in the Balide area of Dili, from Sept. 1 to Sept. 3, 1999.

Basilio told the hearing that the judges, appointed by the UN secretary-general, heard the testimonies of scores of angry East Timorese who stated that clear violations had occurred during the Aug. 30 voting process.

He said that when the East Timorese learned that there would be no other voting process, they got angry and this was one of the factors that triggered the Sept. 4 violence in East Timor. Thursday's trial was adjourned to June 19.

Separately, director of the Institute of Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) Ifdhal Kasim pointed out that the defense teams in the trials were much more successful in exploiting witness testimonies and dominating the trial.

"The defense team's scenario is to underline that the killing was committed by the East Timor militia, which had no connection at all with the military and the police," he said.

Rights activists continue to ask why the name of former Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto is missing from the list of 18 suspects in the trials. Suspecting a compromise, Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Ori Rahman argued that Wiranto had confirmed himself as the most senior operational commander handling security in East Timor at that time.

In one of the hearings, Wiranto testified that he had issued an order for the military to take over security leadership from the police, two days after the result of the ballot was announced and that he was in charge to safeguard the ballot.