Generals' lawyers to visit East Timor
JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers defending Army generals under scrutiny for their alleged involvement in the East Timor debacle will visit the territory on Jan. 16 to prove their clients' innocence.
One of the lawyers, Mohamad Assegaf, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the United Nations Transitional Authority for East Timor (UNTAET) gave the team permission to enter the territory.
Assegaf, however, said for logistical and security reasons UNTAET could only let in five or six members of the team.
"Maybe the team will stay there for two or three days," Assegaf said.
Adnan Buyung Nasution, Ruhut Sitompul, Tommy Sihotang, Yan Juanda Saputra and former justice minister Muladi are among those who will be leaving for the former Indonesian province, Assegaf said.
Assegaf also claimed to have received approval from independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao to meet with the team.
The team failed to enter East Timor last month, with Buyung accusing the International Force in East Timor (Interfet) of obstructing justice.
UNTAET, however, said that the team was denied entry because it did not provide adequate advance notice.
UNTAET officials said that difficulties in transport, accommodation and security in East Timor were such that visits took time to arrange.
The government-sanctioned Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) in East Timor has alleged that several senior Army officers, including Gen. Wiranto, were in some way responsible for the violence which raged following the Aug. 30 self-determination ballot.
Wiranto, who was TNI commander and defense minister when the violence broke out, is now the coordinating minister for political affairs and security.
Following a fact-finding visit to East Timor in November and December, the commission concluded that the military and the police colluded with prointegration militias in the violence, which left more than 260,000 people seeking refuge in neighboring East Nusa Tenggara.
The commission was set up in late September following Jakarta's refusal to accept the UN inquiry into post-ballot violence in East Timor. (byg)