Military admits rights abuses in E. Timor: UN

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)