KPP HAM warns militia leaders of 'obstruction of justice'
KPP HAM warns militia leaders of 'obstruction of justice'
JAKARTA (JP): The government-sanctioned commission of inquiry
into human rights abuses in East Timor (KPP HAM) warned
prointegration militia leaders on Tuesday if they failed to
adhere to the inquiry's summonses they could be considered to be
"obstructing justice".
The warning came after militia leaders failed to attend
questioning on Tuesday.
The leader of Besi Merah Putih militia group, Manuel Sousa,
failed to appear for questioning at the office of the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
It was not clear why Manuel, who was the first militia leader
scheduled to be questioned by the commission, failed to arrive.
"We are going to send him a second summons and if he still
fails to answer, KPP HAM will then write in its report that he is
unwilling to cooperate or it is an obstruction of justice," KPP
HAM deputy chairman Todung Mulya Lubis told journalists.
Later on Tuesday, Aitarak militia leader Eurico Guterres said
in a television interview he would not abide by the summons as
the inquiry had been impartial in its investigation.
KPP HAM started this week questioning militia leaders, Army
generals and former East Timorese regents about the violence and
destruction in the former Indonesian province after the Aug. 30
ballot.
"We have asked defense minister Juwono Sudarsono to help us
bring these militia leaders to Jakarta because we want to obtain
information from both sides, so we flatly deny allegations saying
that KPP only seeks information from proindependence supporters,"
Todung remarked.
"Those accusations are completely wrong, obscure and
misleading," Todung said, adding that "KPP has started and will
interview all parties to obtain information".
Todung was referring to a team of defense lawyers representing
top military generals, led by Adnan Buyung Nasution, which said
earlier the information KPP HAM had made public was one-sided and
mostly obtained from proindependence sources.
A source close to the investigation said that along with
Manuel and Eurico, those scheduled to be questioned included; the
commander of prointegration forces Joao da Silva Tavares; the
leader of Laksaur militias Olivio Moruk; and the leader of Saka-
Sera militias Joanico.
The source said Eurico, Tavares and Olivio were scheduled to
be questioned on Wednesday while Joanico was scheduled on Friday.
Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen.
Wiranto, who was the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief when the
ballot was held in East Timor, is scheduled to be questioned on
Wednesday.
The source also said a lieutenant colonel from the Army's
Special Force (Kopassus) would be questioned on Thursday for his
alleged involvement in an attack on a group of nuns and church
workers near the East Timorese town of Los Palos in late
September, in which at least nine people, including Indonesian
journalist Agus Mulyawan, were killed.
Two other middle-ranking Army officers would also be
questioned on Thursday for their alleged involvement in an attack
on a church in Suai on Sept. 6 which killed at least 26 people,
the source said.
Meanwhile, Todung also said the commission was seeking to
acquire the assistance of three foreign human rights experts.
Todung said the complexity of the East Timorese problem
necessitated the involvement of the foreign experts, but he did
not elaborate.
He named the experts as Malaysian rights advocate Datuk Param
Cumaraswammy, University of Philippines' Carolina G. Hernandez
and Vitit Muntarbhorn of the Culalongkorn University in Thailand.
Cumaraswammy and Hernandez have already agreed to help while
Muntarbhorn has yet to give an answer.
Earlier in the day, KPP HAM questioned the former spokesman
for the Indonesian Task Force for the Implementation of the
Popular Consultation in East Timor Dino, Patti Djalal, and former
Dili regent Dominggos Soares.
Dominggos said after the questioning that "there was no
official instruction to launch a campaign of destruction in East
Timor".
KPP HAM member Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said, however, that
Dominggos admitted during the questioning that prointegration
militia groups were set up under a decree and they had received a
monthly allowance from the local government. (byg/emf)