Government rejects UN report on rights violations in E. Timor
Government rejects UN report on rights violations in E. Timor
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government rejected a report by the United Nations's
Commission of Experts which recommended that the Security Council
set up an international tribunal to try top military officers
allegedly involved in human rights violations in East Timor in
1999.
"In principle, we could not accept their recommendation. We
reject it. I have said earlier that whatever the result (of the
Commission) is, we will continue to work with the government of
Timor Leste to settle our past through the Commission of
Truth and Friendship that we have agreed on before," Minister of
Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda said on Tuesday.
He added that the government considered that the
recommendations of the Commission were not in line with their
terms of reference, meaning that it could not be applied here
politically and would not support the efforts of the Commission
of Truth and Friendship to seek reconciliation.
He said that the government of Indonesia would submit its
stance on the issue soon to the UN secretary-general and Security
Council.
The three-member UN panel, set by the UN secretary-general to
evaluate Indonesia's efforts to punish those responsible for the
violence that erupted in East Timor after it voted to break free
from Indonesia in a U.N.-organized referendum in 1999.
The independence ballot sparked a rampage by pro-Indonesia
militia, allegedly directed by Indonesian troops, that left more
than 1,000 people dead. The bloodshed only ended with the arrival
of peacekeeping troops.
The government then established an Ad Hoc Human Rights Court
for Timor Leste in Jakarta. The Indonesian attorney general
indicted 18 military and police personnel, two government
officials and a militia leader but no high-level suspects. Of the
18 who were tried, only six were convicted, and five of those
convictions were ultimately overturned on appeal.
The Commission of Experts visited Indonesia earlier this year
and submitted its report to the Security Council late last month.
In their report, the experts determined that Indonesia's
efforts to secure justice had been "manifestly inadequate." They
urged the Security Council to establish an international criminal
tribunal to try the perpetrators unless the government takes
"substantive action" within six months.
"...we reject the recommendation of the possibility of the
establishment of an international tribunal because it will not
solve anything," Hassan said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said that the
government would lobby the Security Council not to approve the
recommendations of the Commission of Experts.
The government also believes that the establishment of an
international tribunal for the East Timor case would not be easy.
"The process is not that easy. The UN is facing a lot of
problems such as the cases of Darfur and Iraq. Why hasn't the
case involving the prisoners in Guantanamo in the United States
been proposed for a tribunal? It's a case of gross human rights
violations. It's more severe that the East Timor case. They
shouldn't apply a double standard," Juwono said.
Last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono raised
the issue during a meeting with United States Ambassador for
Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe at the Presidential Office. The
President will also lead a delegation for a state visit to China
in the coming weeks. Both the United States and China are
permanent members of the Security Council.