Two TNI men indicted over E. Timor

Two TNI men indicted over E. Timor

JAKARTA: Investigators in East Timor have issued an indictment against two Indonesian military officers over the 1999 killing of a Dutch journalist around the time the territory voted to break from Jakarta's harsh rule.

The United Nations, which administered East Timor until its formal independence last May, said in a statement that arrest warrants had been requested from the Dili District Court and would then be forwarded to Indonesia's attorney-general.

The indictment, the first to be issued over the murder of Financial Times reporter Sander Thoenes, also covered the alleged killing of 20 other civilians. A military spokesman in Jakarta denied all the accusations against the two officers.

The statement by the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) said the indictment was against the commanding officer of Battalion 745 at the time and a platoon commander.

"The indictment charges 17 counts of crimes against humanity, including 14 counts of murder in which members of Battalion 745 are alleged to have killed 21 civilians during September 1999," the statement said.

Both the military officers are believed to be residing in Indonesia, the statement added. It did not name them.

Deputy military spokesman Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman -- East Timor's military commander at the time of the bloody vote -- said Battalion 745 found Thoenes's body, but did not kill him.

"It was certainly not them that did it," Tono said. -- Reuters