UNHRC report not a setback

UNHRC report not a setback

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia played down a United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) statement of concern on East Timor and denied there were any negative aspects to UN human rights commissioner Jose Ayala Lassio's trip to the province.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs here refuted suggestions that the UNHRC's findings were a setback to Indonesia's efforts at painting a positive picture of its development projects in East Timor.

Last Wednesday, during an annual session in Geneva, the UNHRC criticized Indonesia for human rights abuses in East Timor in a consensus declaration.

East Timor is a former Portuguese colony which integrated into Indonesia in 1976 and has since become an Indonesian province.

The 53-member group also called on Jakarta to accept a visit by Lassio to inspect the situation in the province.

Lassio's impending journey will mark the highest level visit by any UN representative to East Timor.

"After comparing last year's report to this year's, we found there was not much difference," Irawan Abidin, the foreign ministry's director of information, told The Jakarta Post.

Last year Indonesia was successful in averting a UNHRC condemnation resolution.

However, this year a set of circumstances weighed heavily against Jakarta's case.

The first was the alleged killing of civilians by Armed Forces personnel in Liquisa regency and the second was UN special rapporteur Bacre Waly Ndaye's stinging report on East Timor.

In his report, Ndaye called for a new inquiry into the 1991 Dili incident, in which over 50 demonstrators were killed, and suggested that the tragic affair was not accidental.

Jakarta on Thursday denounced Ndaye's report as unbalanced and not objective.

In anticipation of the difficult job in Geneva, the foreign ministry sent Director General of Political Affairs Izhar Ibrahim to lead the Indonesian delegation.

Commenting on Lassio's future arrival here, Irawan said that the UN commissioner would be welcomed and Jakarta would invite the world objectively view the positive developments achieved in East Timor.

Irawan further said that prior to this year's UNHRC session, Jakarta had already agreed to allow Lassio to visit the province. It was only a matter of scheduling which delayed his arrival, Irawan noted.

"That he was mentioned is just a coincidence," Irawan remarked.

Irawan also wished to correct a statement in the leading story on this page on Thursday, in which he commented on a discrepancy in the findings by two separate investigations into the Liquisa affair.

Irawan was reported to have said that he was not surprised at the findings of the National Commission on Human Rights and the Officers' Honor Council.

He clarified that he meant the Commission and the Armed Forces fact-finding team, not the Officer's Honor Council.

Irawan pointed out that both investigations -- the National Commission on Human Rights and ABRI's inquiry -- would provide useful input into the recommendations of the Officers' Honor Council. (mds)