UN may hold int'l inquiry on E. Timor abuses

UN may hold int'l inquiry on E. Timor abuses

UNITED NATIONS (Agencies): A recent amendment to the
Indonesian constitution might force the United Nations to hold an
international inquiry into human rights abuses in East Timor, a
UN spokesman said on Thursday.

Spokesman Fred Eckhard said that until now, the UN had
believed Indonesia "would undertake a serious and credible
investigation" of crimes committed before it handed the territory
over to UN administration last year.

But last week the People's Consultative Assembly amended the
1945 Constitution to prevent an individual from being prosecuted
under laws that did not exist when a crime was committed.

The amendment created an uproar among local and international
rights groups, which feared it would be used to prevent the
prosecution of military officers for human rights violations in
East Timor.

"We'll have to see what happens with this idea for an
amnesty," Eckhard said as quoted by AFP on Wednesday.

"But if it were to go forward, I think that would probably
force us to reconsider our position concerning the need for an
international investigation of these abuses."

He recalled that the Indonesian authorities had said they
would carry out "an internal review of the excesses of the
military and the militia in East Timor".

At the outset, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan felt "that we
should let Indonesia deal with it," Eckhard said.

"When the secretary general visited Indonesia he met with the
attorney general," he added.

"He was convinced that the attorney general, who had
previously been a human rights activist in the country, had good
credibility in the human rights community, and that they would
undertake a serious and credible investigation."

The Indonesian Attorney General's Office has already postponed
naming suspects in their investigation into the case because it
feels it needs stronger legal arguments to prosecute them as a
result of the constitutional amendment.

Earlier this month, UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson
said the UN would unilaterally call an international war crimes
tribunal if Jakarta failed to bring the perpetrators of the Timor
violence to trial.

Refugees

Meanwhile in Jakarta, the Indonesia foreign ministry
condemned an attack on three humanitarian workers which occurred
at a refugee camp in West Timor on Tuesday.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said it was opposed to
the violence which left the three UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) workers badly beaten after trying to distribute
relief supplies to East Timorese refugees at a camp.

"The Indonesian police, the provincial government of East Nusa
Tenggara and the Indonesian Armed Forces shall investigate the
incident in cooperation with the UNHCR.

"The Indonesian government rejects any attempt to politicize
by any quarter who seek to exploit the incident for political
ends," the foreign ministry said.

The UNHCR on Wednesday suspended operations in West Timor
after three of its workers were attacked with machetes, clubs and
stones.

UNHCR claimed the Indonesian military did nothing to stop
militia gangs from their attacks.

"The militias are allowed to operate with impunity and make a
mockery of statements by responsible officials in Jakarta
guaranteeing security for aid workers and refugees," Soren
Jessen-Petersen, assistant high commissioner for refugees, said
in Geneva.

The attack occurred at a camp 130-kilometers from the
provincial capital of Kupang. It is one of dozens of camps and
settlements still housing the refugees who remain in West Timor.

The agency said it was taking the unusual step of suspending
all its operations in the Indonesian province as a result.

"It is something that is not done lightly," UNHCR spokesman
Ron Redmond told the Associated Press.

He said the three UNHCR workers required hospital treatment
following the attack Tuesday when they were distributing plastic
sheeting to refugees.

"One of the UN staff had his head held underwater in a rice
paddy until he choked," said UN spokesman Fred Eckhard in New
York.

It was the worst of more than 100 recorded cases of harassment
and intimidation against aid workers and refugees since last
September, Redmond said.

UNHCR activities could resume depending on the results of the
investigation and whether Indonesian authorities provide
sufficient assurances that they will protect workers and
refugees, he said.