Generals protest 'baseless' accusations
JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers representing six military and police generals have demanded censure against human rights investigators for accusing their clients of committing human rights abuses in East Timor based on scant and incomplete evidence.
They also warned that the generals' cooperation in the inquiry into the violence in East Timor depended on the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM)'s action to reprimand the investigators for discrediting their clients.
The accusations "violated the human rights of Indonesian Military (TNI) officers", the lawyers wrote on Wednesday in a letter to the commission.
The commission oversees KPP HAM, the independent inquiry set up by the government in September to look into the campaign of terror and destruction waged by pro-Indonesia militias in East Timor after they lost the Aug. 30 self-determination ballot to pro-independence groups.
In an interim report early this month, the inquiry said it had found indications that TNI members were involved in or had prior knowledge about the campaign of terror. The inquiry has demanded the questioning of six TNI officers and police officers whom it said were responsible for security in East Timor at the time of the mayhem.
The six are Gen. Wiranto, the TNI chief in September and now coordinating minister of political affairs and security, Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Syamsudin, Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim, Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman and Police Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen. All six have retained the services of the country's top lawyers to represent them in the investigation.
The lawyers urged the Commission to take "corrective action" against members of the inquiry for making the accusations which have discredited the public standing of their clients.
They cited article 85c of the 1999 Law on Komnas HAM allowing the commission's plenary meeting to suspend investigators whose actions had undermined the credibility of the commission.
"We plead with the plenary meeting to immediately take a stance as well as action before we decide whether or not to allow our clients to be summoned and questioned by KPP HAM," said the letter, signed by lawyers Adnan Buyung Nasution and Moh. Assegaf.
They said public statements given by KPP HAM members accusing their clients of human rights violations were "premature, one- sided and not objective" and were intended not only for a domestic audience but also for an international one.
These accusations were made before the inquiry had talked to TNI officers and pro-Indonesia militias in East Timor, they said.
The lawyers also demanded that Komnas HAM turned the investigation into a closed inquiry, rather than an open one, which is allowed under the 1999 Law on Komnas HAM.
All findings made by the inquiry should not be made public after their accuracy is proven in an open court, they said.
The inquiry was established in September by then president B.J. Habibie after the government rejected calls for an international inquiry that would look into the possibility of setting up a war crimes tribunal for Indonesian officers.
The United Nations went ahead with its own inquiry, and the team, during a visit to Jakarta last week, said some of their findings tallied with those uncovered by KPP HAM.
Albert Hasibuan, who heads the Indonesian inquiry, accused Gen. Wiranto of "omission" that lead to the East Timor mayhem.
The UN commission announced in Geneva on Tuesday it had evidence that Indonesian troops and pro-Indonesia militias were involved in acts of terror in East Timor, AFP reported.
"The Commission heard evidence of the involvement of militia groups and army personnel in the intimidation and terror complained of," the UN team said.
The commission was sent to East Timor from Nov. 25 to Dec. 8 by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.
The members of the commission -- from Costa Rica, Nigeria, India, Papua New Guinea and Germany -- urged that investigations into the atrocities should continue with the aim of bringing those responsible to justice.
On the basis of their report, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will to have to decide whether to recommend the creation of an international war crimes tribunal for East Timor.
In Jakarta, TNI Chief Adm. Widodo said he supported the ongoing investigation into human rights abuses as an attempt to uphold the law.
But he appealed to the public to uphold the principle of presumption of innocence for the six generals, whom he noted were still engaged in active military service.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung urged the government to complete the inquiry immediately, saying Indonesia's international reputation was at stake.
"I think it is fair that we should resolve this problem ourselves in a fair and just manner, before the international community decides to take the matter over," he said.
Ruhut Sitompul, one of the lawyers representing the military and police generals, said here on Wednesday that a 27-member team of lawyers and legal counselors would fly to East Timor on Thursday.
"We'll be staying in the region for three days to hold several meetings with the prominent leaders in East Timor," Ruhut said after a meeting with some of the military generals here.
Ruhut claimed that they had received permission to enter East Timor.
Among those who will be going are Adnan Buyung Nasution, Hotma Sitompul, Chandra Motik Yusuf Djemaat, Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, Bunga Suryaatmadja and Ruhut himself. (emb/byg/04)