Rights commission returns to Liquisa
Rights commission returns to Liquisa
DILI, East Timor (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights yesterday began the second round of investigations into the army's Jan. 12 killing of six suspected rebels in Liquisa.
The five-member team met with Liquisa regent Leonato Martin and a number of soldiers involved in the incident, including the commandant of the army unit that raided the house believed to be a rebel hideout.
"We asked them what they could recall about the incident," Clementino dos Reis Amaral who was on the mission with his fellow commission members Marzuki Darusman, Muladi, Joko Sugianto and Soegiri.
Amaral said the team would arrive today in the villages of Gariana and Lefa, where the murders took place, to interview eyewitnesses and, possibly, relatives of the victims.
The team, led by Marzuki Darusman, completed its first investigation on Feb. 19. The commission, however, has returned to Liquisa, about 60 kilometers west of here, to verify the information already obtained.
The Armed Forces (ABRI) has also formed its own investigation team. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Hartono said yesterday that he has assigned 36 senior officers to review the findings.
Local military leaders claim that the six victims, killed in an armed clash, were Fretilin rebels. The military's version is widely disputed.
East Timor Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo said yesterday that the Liquisa affair could have been settled long ago.
"The problem would already have been solved if those involved had been honest," he said.
Muladi said upon his arrival in Dili from Jakarta yesterday that the information obtained by the commission's team last week needed verification to ensure an objective conclusion.
"We need to check the exact place where the shooting happened to get a better picture of the incident," said Muladi, who is also rector of the Semarang-based Diponegoro State University.
At the scene of incident, the investigation plans to once more interview Jeremias Kase, the Liquisa military commandant, and the ABRI member who was stabbed during the encounter.
He said that the team might also interview other troopers who took part in the operation in the area, which the military believe is a Fretilin stronghold.
"We want to collect as much information as possible," Muladi said.
The commission was originally scheduled to announce its findings today. Their report, however, was postponed to allow them to gather more information to come to a conclusion.
Muladi denied that the postponement had anything to do with this week's statement by Armed Forces Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung at the House of Representatives that the six slain people were Fretilin rebels.
"We were not influenced by Feisal's remarks," he said.
Asked why the first investigation led by commission chairman Ali Said failed to visit the scene of incident, he said it was because the team was not prepared. He did not elaborate. (yac/pan)