Rights defendant says no regrets

Rights defendant says no regrets

JAKARTA: Defendant Abilio Soares, currently on trial for human rights violations in East Timor in 1999, told the Central Jakarta human rights court on Thursday that he had no regrets for what had happened so far, including his trial.

"I think there is no need for regrets. This is a struggle," Abilio told the court.

Abilio, former East Timor governor, is charged with crimes against humanity, which carries a maximum sentence of death.

He insisted that since the arrival of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (Unamet) in May 1999, the East Timor administration gradually ceased to function and stopped altogether on Sept. 4, 1999, when the outcome of a UN-organized referendum was announced, implying that he was no longer responsible for what happened after Sept. 4.

"Unamet arrived in an authoritarian frame of mind; it wanted to decide everything by itself," said Abilio, adding that he had been instructed by Jakarta to assist Unamet. -- Antara