Skepticism greets UN mission

Skepticism greets UN mission

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Observers cast doubt on Tuesday over the ability of the UN-
sanctioned Commission of Experts (COE) to bring the perpetrators
of the 1999 atrocities in East Timor to justice.

They said the UN mission could instead actually disrupt the
efforts by a reconciliation commission jointly established by
Indonesia and East Timor to heal past wounds.

Agung Yudhawiranata of the Institute for Policy Research and
Advocacy (Elsam) said the UN and the international community had
been facing what he termed "technical and psychological"
difficulties in pushing the COE to work optimally as they lacked
political support from both Indonesia and East Timor, which have
set up the Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) to promote
reconciliation between the two countries.

"The COE's credibility has been at stake as it is not fully
backed up by Indonesia and East Timor. And its position has
become more difficult since the Special Panel for Serious Crimes
in East Timor and the Indonesian rights tribunal failed to bring
the perpetrators of the 1999 mayhem to justice," he said.

COE members Justice Prafullachandra Natwaral Bhagwati from
India, Prof. Yozo Yokota from Japan and Dr. Shaista Shameen from
Fiji are scheduled to start their three-day mission on Wednesday
to evaluate the judicial process against members of the
Indonesian military and officials charged with involvement in the
1999 violence in East Timor.

During their visit here, they are slated to meet with the ad
hoc rights tribunal's prosecutors and judges to obtain documents
on the human rights cases.

Johnson Panjaitan, a member of the team of lawyers
representing human rights victims in East Timor, said he and many
other lawyers and activists were not only skeptical about the UN
mission, but also afraid of the consequences of being outspoken
in calling for the trial of the Army generals believed to have
been responsible for the crimes against humanity in East Timor.

"It looks unlikely that the UN experts will recommend another ad
hoc tribunal or call on the International Court of Justice to try
the human rights perpetrators because besides all this being costly, the
experts will find it difficult to work independently and
objectively simply because they lack support from Indonesia and
East Timor," he said.

Johnson said his team had long doubted Indonesia's willingness
and ability to carry out a thorough investigation into the gross
human rights abuses.

"We were skeptical ever since General Wiranto, who should have
been held responsible for the rights violations, became involved
in the presidential election last year, while many other generals
and officers were acquitted of all charges, and even got
promoted," he said.

He also expressed disappointment with East Timorese President
Xanana Gusmao, who he once represented when on trial here, as
well as former Indonesian presidents Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid
and Megawati Soekarnoputri for their failures to press for fair
and objective trials.

According to Johnson, the most important thing at present was
to encourage the victims of the atrocities to seek justice.

Kusnanto Anggoro, a military analyst with the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the ad hoc
tribunal has failed to force the Indonesian Military (TNI) to
push through its much touted internal reform.

"In fact, the reform process within the TNI has stagnated and
it has retained its colonial style. This means there will be no
changes as regards its stance on human rights violations, as
shown by the way it treats Aceh and Papua," he said.