Generals protest 'baseless' accusations

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)