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)