Two Indonesians tried in Dili

Two Indonesians tried in Dili

Joanna Jolly, Associated Press, Dili, East Timor

Prosecutors on Wednesday charged two Indonesian officers and 14 pro-Jakarta East Timorese militiamen with crimes against humanity for their alleged involvement in the deaths of dozens of people during East Timor's violent break with Indonesia in 1999.

Prosecutor Longuinhos Monteiro filed indictments in a Dili court against suspects allegedly involved in over 70 killings and four rapes in East Timor's Bobonaro and Oecussi districts in 1999.

The murders include those of two East Timorese citizens working for the UN mission that organized the August 1999 referendum in which East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia.

One of the UN workers was allegedly shot dead by an Indonesian military intelligence officer, identified only as Asis Fontes, one of the two indicted.

The second officer, Lt. Sustrisno, is alleged to have been present when both UN workers were killed.

"This is a breakthrough case because it shows clearly that the killing of UN workers was part of a widespread and systematic attack, not only carried out by militiamen but also by serving members of the Indonesian military," said prosecutor Brenda Sue Thornton.

East Timor, which officially gained independence on May 20, has issued indictments against 117 individuals accused of involvement in crimes during the violence surrounding the referendum.

Up to 1,000 East Timorese civilians were killed and hundreds raped and tortured by the militias and their Indonesian military backers before and after the independence vote.

Twenty-three suspects have already been convicted and are serving sentences in East Timorese jails.

Only four militiamen out of the 14 indicted Wednesday are in custody in East Timor, Thornton said. The rest, along with both Indonesian officers, are at large in Indonesia, she said.

Although arrest warrants have been issued, the government of the new East Timorese nation has yet to negotiate an extradition treaty with Jakarta.

Earlier this year, Indonesian authorities set up their own human rights court for atrocities committed in East Timor in an effort to avert the creation of international war crimes tribunals akin to those for ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

However, there is widespread skepticism that convictions will result from the trials in Indonesia's notoriously corrupt and inept legal system.