Funding for E. Timor militias came from state: Witness

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.