UN prosecutors call for Gen. Wiranto's arrest
UN prosecutors call for Gen. Wiranto's arrest
Agencies, Jakarta
United Nations prosecutors assigned to a special court in Dili have urged East Timor to issue an international arrest warrant for former Indonesian Military (TNI) military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, saying he was responsible for war crimes committed by Indonesian forces in the territory in 1999.
In the meantime, Wiranto, who is still very much in the running to become this country's next president, possibly with the Golkar Party, remained publicly aloof to the UN call, saying that he hadn't heard about it.
"I haven't heard about it because I've been on the road all day," Wiranto said after campaigning for Golkar Party in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
He later defended himself, saying that he was innocent and would continue to participate in the presidential race.
Wiranto, who commanded TNI during East Timor's violence- wracked secession in 1999, hopes to be the Golkar candidate in the presidential election scheduled for July 5.
Wiranto was indicted for war crimes in February 2003 in a Dili court, but court officials have yet to issue an international warrant for his arrest.
Wiranto said earlier the UN prosecutor's accusations are part of a conspiracy to undermine his presidential bid.
Indonesian authorities have also said they would not hand over Wiranto or other officers accused of East Timor war crimes, even if there was an international arrest warrant.
But if such a warrant were issued, it would mean Wiranto could not travel to a third country without risking extradition.
Many other military and police officers and former East Timor officials tried by a Jakarta district court for their alleged role in the crimes were acquitted of charges.
Nicholas Koumjian, a top UN prosecutor at the Special Court for Serious Crimes in Dili, said in a statement on Tuesday that Wiranto should be held responsible for the 1999 bloodshed.
"The evidence we have given to the court proves that (Gen.) Wiranto failed in his responsibilities as the ultimate commander of all army and police forces to prevent the commission of crimes against humanity and failed to punish the perpetrators," he said as quoted by Associated Press.
Nearly 2,000 people died and much of the territory was devastated by Indonesian troops and their militia proxies before and after a UN-organized independence referendum that ended a quarter-century of Indonesian occupation in the territory that declared its independence on May 20, 2002.
The Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) has been established to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the violence.
Although East Timor gained full independence in 2002 after a period of UN transitional rule, prosecutors from the world body are still investigating the tragedy as part of the SCU that has filed hundreds of charges against Indonesian soldiers and militia members.
Wiranto is the most senior official accused in any of the indictments issued by the prosecutors.
"I am confident that the arrest warrant will be issued," Koumjian said.
Indonesian invaded East Timor in 1975, just after the former Portuguese colony had declared independence. An estimated 150,000 people -- nearly a quarter of the population -- died in the subsequent war waged by proindependence rebels against former president Soeharto's iron-fisted rule.