Military admits rights abuses in E. Timor: UN

JAKARTA (JP): The United Nations' investigator on violence against women, Radhika Coomaraswamy, said here on Thursday that the military admitted past human rights abuses in the troubled province of East Timor.

Radhika, who was scheduled to leave on Friday after completing a 10-day trip here, including a three-day visit to East Timor, said that the military however has made commitments to the promotion and protection of human rights in the province.

"They do accept that there were past human rights abuses, including reports on violence against women," Coomaraswamy told reporters on the sidelines of a human rights seminar.

Coomaraswamy, a Sri Lankan jurist who serves as UN special rapporteur on violence against women, said that she had met with victims, the local military commander and other officials in East Timor.

She said that Wiradarma Military Chief Col. Tono Suratman had agreed to three things that he would bring to the Armed Forces (ABRI) headquarters here for approval.

"He is ready to consider compensation for women victims of violence and for children of the soldiers ... secondly he said that he would make a public declaration that the army will not tolerate violence against women and he will punish the perpetrators ... and he will try to bring in programs for widows who lose their husbands in the conflict," she said referring to programs for widows in Aceh.

"So in that sense we feel that there is a positive response to our initiative but I do not know whether they will follow through with those commitments," Coomaraswamy said.

The United Nations is currently brokering peace talks on East Timor's future with Indonesia and its former colonial ruler Portugal.

Changes in the military's attitude toward the troubled provinces have been made since the resignation of longtime ruler Soeharto. His successor, President B.J. Habibie, has promised greater political freedom and respect for human rights.

"I am really encouraged by how vibrant civil society is in Indonesia at the moment though I know that there is a darker side to this," she said, referring to death threats faced by a number of human rights activists here.

Coomaraswamy said that she came to Indonesia because the UN has received "a lot of evidence and petitions about the problem of violence against women in the May riots, Aceh, Irian Jaya and East Timor".

The joint fact-finding team said last month that at least 52 women, mostly Chinese Indonesians, were raped in the riots which killed about 1,200 people, many of whom were looters trapped in burning buildings. "It has been a very successful visit in terms of access and so we hope the (UN) report will come out some time in March ... we hope it will help Indonesia to some extent," Coomaraswamy said.

Coomaraswamy said that she had also met with a number of victims of the May riots, government officials and non- governmental organizations in Jakarta.

Coomaraswamy also met with First Lady Hasri Ainun Habibie earlier on Thursday. Hasri is an advisor to the National Commission on Violence Against Women. (byg)