NGOs condemn state violence in East Timor
KUTA, Bali (JP): The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) condemned on Wednesday the campaign of terror and intimidation by military-backed militias following the historic ballot on East Timor's future on Aug. 30.
INFID said that the violence and killings in the former Portuguese colony were a crime against humanity and called for the establishment of an international tribunal to try those found responsible.
"These crimes have been systematically planned and executed and represent a breach of Indonesia's human rights obligations as a member of the UN," INFID said in a statement, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post.
INFID is a forum of around 60 Indonesian and 35 overseas nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and it is having a four-day conference here. It is holding its annual congress, the first to be held in Indonesia since its inception in 1985.
The forum said that it supported the call by UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Mary Robinson for the establishment of an international tribunal.
"Everyone found guilty of crimes against humanity in East Timor, including senior officials, members of the militias, the Indonesian Military and Police, and proindependence supporters, must be held accountable for their actions," INFID said.
International community and human rights activists said that hundreds of people had been killed in the violence and nearly 140,000 more had fled to the western half of Timor island for fear of further unrest.
Relief workers said that tens of thousands of others were believed to be in hiding in the hills and mountainous areas inside the territory and were on the brink of starvation.
"East Timor is on the brink of humanitarian calamity as a result of systematic terror, mass displacement of the population, widespread destruction of infrastructure and the forced closure of local and international aid agencies in the territory," the statement said.
INFID said "action must be taken immediately to secure humanitarian access to East and West Timor and cannot wait for the arrival of the multinational peacekeeping force".
It said that the disastrous famine in 1978, which accounted for most of the deaths in East Timor since 1975, followed the denial of access to international aid agencies.
Responding to the UN's decision to authorize a 7,000-strong multinational force to restore order in East Timor, the forum said: "The deployment must be accompanied by a phased withdrawal of Indonesian troops and the multinational force must have a mandate to disarm and arrest militia members and Indonesian soldiers responsible for acts of violence."
It said that "cooperation with the Indonesian Army will be necessary but command of the multinational force must be under the UN, not the Indonesian Army".
INFID appealed to governments in the Southeast Asia region, including Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, to make temporary safe haven visas available, especially to "politically vulnerable East Timorese who are being targeted by pro-Jakarta elements". (50/byg)