UNAMET responsible for East Timor unrest: General

UNAMET responsible for East Timor unrest: General

Tiarma Siboro and
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

An Indonesian Military (TNI) general said on Wednesday that the
United Nations had a share of the blame in the violence and human
rights violations before, during and after the UN-organized
referendum in East Timor in August 1999.

Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, former chief of the Udayana Regional
Military Command which then oversaw the Bali, East and West Nusa
Tenggara and East Timor provinces, told a hearing at the Central
Jakarta District Court that the United Nations Mission in East
Timor (UNAMET) was responsible for the unrest which erupted.

"The UN civilian police force was the only party responsible
for and having the authority to maintain security and order in
East Timor during the transitional period. But, none of its
members were present when unrest broke out in the former
Indonesian province," Adam told the human rights tribunal,
presided over by Judge Emmy Marni Mustafa.

Testifying as a witness in the trial of former East Timor
governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, the two-star general cited
the clash between the pro-integration and pro-independence camps
in the East Timor capital of Dili on Aug. 25, 1999 during the
final round of campaigning before the referendum.

"Members of the pro-integration camp was holding its campaign
in the Becora area when they were attacked by the pro-
independence camp. There were many fatalities in the clash, but
no members of the UN civilian police were there to control the
situation.

"The Indonesian police later came to try to control the
situation, but the clash had already broken up," he said.

Abilio, 54, is being tried for alleged human rights violations
in East Timor before, during and after the 1999 referendum. He is
charged with responsibility for violations by the civilian
regents of Liquica and Covalima, Leonito Martins and Herman
Sedyono respectively.

Adam, who is now assistant for operations to the TNI chief of
general affairs, said that unrest in East Timor was also incited
by alleged irregularities committed by UNAMET.

"UNAMET only recruited members of the pro-independence camp as
its local staff and skipped those of the pro-integration camp.

"The polling booths were situated near the bases of the pro-
independence camp, while the Indonesian police were only allowed
to stand some 100 meters away from the booths," the military
officer said.

He also accused the UN body of having threatened the East
Timorese to vote for Independence.

"They said that they had come to East Timor to free the region
from Indonesia and asked the local people to lower down the
Indonesian Red-and-White flags or face possible attacks by the
CNRT (the National Council for East Timorese Resistance)," Adam
said.

Speaking about the attack on the residence of Dili Bishop
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo after the referendum, he said it was
reportedly triggered by the information that the ballot boxes
were kept there, instead of at the UNAMET office.

Asked by presiding Judge Emmy whether he had evidence to
support his allegations, the military officer said he had
received the information from his subordinate, Brig. Gen. M. Noer
Moeis, then chief of the Wiradharma Military Resort Command,
which oversaw East Timor.

Meanwhile, former Dili mayor Mathius Maia accused the
prosecution of lacking fairness, saying that it had only
prosecuted Indonesian civilian and military officials.

"It's unfair as the alleged rights abuse has os only been
directed at Indonesian officials, while UNAMET was supposed to be
responsible for the situation there during the transitional
period," Maia told the prosecution.

UNAMET, so far, has yet to appear in the trial although the
prosecutors have requested the UN body present witnesses.

In a related development, Deputy commander of the East
Timorese pro-integration militia (PPI) Eurico Guterres said on
Wednesday that he, along with four military officers, would be
summoned to testify as suspects at the Attorney General's Office
on Monday over similar charges of rights violation during the
transitional period.