Rights body will cooperate with UN's Timor inquiry
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Tuesday it was ready to cooperate with the United Nations in its inquiry into alleged human rights abuses in East Timor.
Rights body chairman Marzuki Darusman, who is also deputy chairman of the Golkar party, said Indonesia had a moral obligation to cooperate with and assist the inquiry.
"Although the decision is a setback for the government, Komnas is prepared to cooperate with the international commission," Marzuki told The Jakarta Post.
"That's the position of the international community ... and it is best that we recognize it and respect that."
Marzuki said the rights body would continue with plans to launch its own investigation into alleged human rights violations in the former Portuguese colony.
"Komnas itself is going to initiate preparatory steps to set up the institutional framework to enable an inquiry and eventual legal proceedings, as it is the primary responsibility of the government to bring those who are found to be involved in human rights violations to court."
The United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCR) adopted on Monday a resolution calling for an international commission of inquiry to investigate human rights in the territory following the wave of violence after the Aug. 30 ballot.
Indonesia and many Asian countries voted against the resolution, which Indonesian diplomats in Geneva considered non- binding.
Marzuki said the establishment of the international commission to investigate the allegations could "take some time".
He said the international commission would focus on events that occurred between the announcement of the ballot's result on Sept. 4 and the security handover on Monday from the Indonesian Military (TNI) to the International Force for East Timor (Interfet).
An Australian-led multinational force landed in East Timor on Sept. 20 to restore peace.
"The commission is mandated to assess reports and make an overall judgment of what actually happened and also what did not happen... and will eventually end up with identifying persons and institutions that are responsible for any alleged human rights violations," Marzuki said.
He added that the primary source for the investigation would be individuals who had allegedly been forced to leave the territory.
"I think they have gone through a traumatic experience; we will also have to start by contacting refugees in West Timor."
The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) said in a statement on Tuesday that the establishment of an international inquiry on East Timor "would break the cycle of impunity that has so far been enjoyed by the Indonesian Military and authorities".
Previous UN commissions of inquiry have led to the establishment of international war crimes tribunals in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
A top Indonesian government official expressed hope on Tuesday that the UN would conduct the inquiry in a neutral manner, and stressed the need for the international inquiry to consult the Indonesian rights body.
Minister/State Secretary Muladi however stopped short of explicitly saying Indonesia would cooperate in the probe.
"We have to permit this inquiry because we are a member of the UN ... and we hope that the people who come here have good intentions and are neutral," he said.
Asked how Indonesia would react if the UN inquiry found evidence of human rights abuses, Muladi said it was too early to comment on the scenario. (byg/prb)