Police and army officers acquitted of rights abuses
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Six military and police officers charged with crimes against humanity for their failure to prevent or stop the bloody violence in East Timor in 1999 were acquitted on Thursday, one day after former governor Abilio Soares was sentenced to three years imprisonment on the same charges.
Former East Timor police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul Selaen was declared not guilty of charges on Thursday by a panel of five judges of the ad hoc Human Rights Tribunal at the Central Jakarta District Court.
State prosecutors had charged Timbul with failure to prevent or stop his subordinates from committing systematic torture and killings in the former 27th province of Indonesia.
The judges, presided by Judge Andi Samson Nganro, said they found no evidence that linked Timbul to the widespread, systematic murder and torture in various locations in East Timor in 1999.
Numerous massacres were carried out by pro-integration militiamen who had links with the police. They also said a police officer was involved in human rights violations but not upon Timbul's orders.
The same court also acquitted five lower-ranking police and army officers of crimes against humanity before and after the independence vote for East Timor in 1999.
The judges, presided by Judge Cicut Sutiarso, said they found four army officers and a police officer not guilty of the primary charge of being linked to the killing of 27 East Timorese in the Ave Maria church in Covalima's capital city of Suai on Sept. 6, 1999.
Prosecutor of Timbul's case James Pardede said he would appeal the verdict, while prosecutor for the lower-ranking army and police officers Darmono said he would consider the verdict for a week before taking any action.
The verdicts immediately drew criticism from noted human rights activists who considered the sentences an insult to justice.
They also warned that Thursday's verdicts, along with the earlier decision, could lead the United Nations to set up an international tribunal if the United Nations considers the verdicts unfair.
"The judges and prosecutors do not have the courage to resolve the case. Prosecutors have failed to present strong evidence, thus prompting judges to free military and polices officers who were in charge in East Timor," Todung said.
"It is difficult to understand why those charged with participating in the attack on unarmed civilians inside the Ave Maria church in Suai have been acquitted," said Social Advocacy and Study Institute (Elsam) director Ifdhal Kasim in his press statement.
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) activist Ori Rachman agreed with Todung.
"We have questioned the credibility of the judges and the prosecutors since the cases were opened.
"Evidence and witnesses presented by the prosecutors are all weak, so how can we expect a fair trial," Ori told The Jakarta Post.
Ori doubted that the higher court would be able to overturn the verdict if judges were not credible and the evidence was still the same.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson voiced concern on Thursday over the first verdict on the former East Timor governor, and urged the Indonesian government to take all steps necessary to ensure that thorough investigations are conducted into alleged human rights violations in East Timor in 1999.
She said the prosecutor had not put before the court evidence that portrayed the killings and other human rights violations as widespread or systematic pattern of violence.
"... this seriously undermines the strength of prosecution's cases and jeopardize the integrity and credibility of the process," she said in a statement available to the Post.
Hundreds of East Timorese were killed in bloody violence perpetuated by military-based militiamen before, during, and after the Aug. 30 referendum in East Timor, in which more than 70 percent of its population voted to separate from Indonesia.
The rights tribunal was set up to accommodate international pressure to try military and civilian officials responsible for the violence.
A total of 18 civilians and military officers, including three Army generals, have been brought to trial.
Those tried in human rights trials on East Timor
(Name, position, Verdict): 1. Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, East Timor governor, 3 years in jail; 2. Brig.Gen.Timbul Silaen, East Timor Police Chief, acquitted; 3. Col. Herman Sedyono, Covalima regent, acquitted; 4. Leut.Col.Lilik Koeshardiyanto, chief of Suai military sub-district, acquitted; 5. Leut.Col Sugito, chief of Suai military sub-district, acquitted; 6.Leut.Col.Gatot Subiakto, chief of Suai Police precinct, acquitted; 7. Capt. Achmad Syamsuddin, staff of Suai military sub-district, acquitted.