Marzuki to meet UN officials about East Timor tribunal
Marzuki to meet UN officials about East Timor tribunal
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman will leave for
New York on Saturday to meet with top United Nations officials to
discuss the progress of an international inquiry on post-ballot
violence in East Timor.
Marzuki is due to meet with United States Ambassador to the UN
Richard Holbrooke, who is currently president of the UN Security
Council, and Costa Rican jurist Sonia Picado, who leads the
international human rights inquiry.
"It is almost confirmed that I will meet with Mr. Holbrooke on
Jan. 25 to discuss the development of the UN opinion on the
report by the International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor,"
Marzuki told The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday.
He said he had personally requested the meeting with
Holbrooke.
Marzuki said he was not scheduled to meet with UN Secretary-
General Kofi Annan but added that he "will try to look into the
possibility".
Marzuki will be the second top Indonesian official to go to
the UN this week to discuss the issue of an international
tribunal, following Indonesian foreign minister Alwi Shihab's
departure to the United States on Monday.
The mayhem that arose following the Aug. 30 ballot in East
Timor prompted an international outcry demanding an international
tribunal to bring those responsible to justice.
International human rights groups have accused Indonesian
Military officers of being accomplices to the violence.
Jakarta rejected the idea of an international commission and
tribunal and set up its own inquiry.
Annan reportedly began last week to review the report by the
international commission.
After a visit to East Timor in late November, the commission
said there was evidence of human rights violations and a
systematic campaign of destruction in the ravaged territory.
Final recommendations from the UN could include the
establishment of an international tribunal to try those
responsible in the East Timor violence.
Alwi said his mission to the UN was to dissuade the
establishment of an international tribunal, since Indonesia was
running its own inquiry.
Holbrooke said last week the UN would prefer the matter be
resolved internally by Jakarta, provided there was no
interference from the military.
The Indonesian government-sanctioned Commission of Inquiry
into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) in East Timor has claimed
in its interim report that the Indonesian Military was involved
in the violence perpetrated by prointegration militias.
KPP HAM is scheduled to complete its investigation by the end
of this month and will hand over the findings to the attorney
general through the National Commission on Human Rights.
Marzuki said earlier that if KPP HAM found evidence of rights
abuses, an ad hoc committee could be established to prosecute the
perpetrators in a national human rights tribunal.
Marzuki also said on Tuesday that during his visit he would
attend an international seminar on the truth and reconciliation
commission in Washington. (byg)