NZ minister calls for int'l tribunal for E. Timor
NZ minister calls for int'l tribunal for E. Timor
Agencies Dili
New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff on Tuesday called for the establishment of an international war crimes tribunal to investigate Indonesian officers for alleged human rights abuses in East Timor, The Associated Press reported.
Goff, on a three-day visit to the world's newest nation, met with Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and President Xanana Gusmao.
He also visited the isolated Oecusse enclave and the town of Balibo, where five journalists - one New Zealander and four Australians - were killed during the 1975 Indonesian invasion of East Timor.
"We want to see justice done for those who died in Balibo but equally we want to see justice done for all of the people of East Timor in 1975 and in the period since then," Goff said.
Goff appeared to be the highest-ranking foreign official to demand that Indonesians involved in the bloodshed be held accountable before a UN tribunal akin to those for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
"New Zealand supports the establishment of an international tribunal for the abuses in East Timor ... to seek the truth about what has happened since 1975 and to expose those responsible for these wrongdoings," Goff told reporters including the reporter from The Associated Press.
Top Indonesian officials believed responsible for the deaths of about 150,000 people during the 24-year occupation are beyond the reach of the East Timor's courts because Jakarta has refused to extradite any of them.
However, the Indonesian government established its own ad hoc human rights tribunals to try suspected human rights violators in East Timor.
Goff's visit was scheduled to focus on helping East Timor - which gained independence in 2002 after a three-year period of UN transitional rule - after the UN assistance mission ends its work in May.
Goff said New Zealand favors the creation of a successor mission with a scaled-down peacekeeping force and an advisory body.
Goff confirmed that New Zealand will continue to provide aid to East Timor - Asia's poorest nation - including additional funding for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which has been hearing hundreds of cases involving human rights violations under Indonesian rule.
New Zealand has donated 200,000 New Zealand dollars (US$133,618) to East Timor's truth commission to help it hear more cases of human rights violations, AFP reported on Tuesday quoting an East Timor official as saying.
Goff announced the grant at the end of his three-day visit, said Olimpio Branco, acting foreign minister.
New Zealand would also continue to support East Timor in education, combating serious crime and training, Branco said in a statement.
Branco said New Zealand also donated half a million New Zealand dollars to support his government's budget.
Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and ruled it for 24 years.