U.S. rights groups file lawsuit against TNI general
U.S. rights groups file lawsuit against TNI general
JAKARTA (JP): Lt. Gen. Johny Lumintang was notified of a
lawsuit filed against him by two human rights groups in the
United States representing victims of atrocities committed in
East Timor last year, a New York-based human rights group said on
Friday.
The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) said in a media release
that Johny, who was the deputy Army chief when the violence broke
out, received the notice late Thursday at the Dulles
International Airport in Washington.
Johny, who is now the governor of the National Resilience
Institute (Lemhannas), was in Washington for a conference at the
invitation of the U.S.-Indonesian Society.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday by the
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the Center for Justice
and Accountability (CJA) and James Klimaski on behalf of several
victims of the East Timor mayhem.
ETAN spokesman John Miller said the suit was necessary because
"the United Nations has put an international tribunal on hold and
Indonesia's attorney general plans to focus his efforts on only a
few of the more widely publicized incidents and Indonesian
military commanders allegedly involved in them."
The plaintiffs are three East Timorese: a mother whose son was
killed, a man who had his foot amputated after being shot and a
man whose father was injured and brother murdered.
ETAN said the plaintiffs wished to remain anonymous at this
time because East Timor remains subject to Indonesian military
and militia attacks.
Violence ravaged East Timor after the Aug. 30 self-
determination ballot.
Legal papers filed in court cited a telegram signed by Johny
and sent to former Udayana military commander overseeing security
in East Timor Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri and other commanders just
hours before the agreement to conduct the ballot was signed at
the United Nations on May 5.
The telegram, ETAN said, ordered commanders to plan a
crackdown should the East Timorese vote in favor of independence.
This was to include "a plan to move to the rear and evacuate if
the second option is chosen".
The suit also cited a June 1999 army manual, also signed by
Johny, which stated that the Army's Kopassus intelligence
operatives were to be trained in propaganda, kidnapping, terror,
agitation, sabotage, infiltration, undercover operations, wire-
tapping and photographic intelligence.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, Adm. Dennis Cutler Blair, commander
in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said Friday that military
ties between the United States and Indonesia could only be
resumed if those responsible in the East Timor violence were
brought to justice.
"We need to see progress in finding who was responsible for
the actions following the referendum," Blair, who was scheduled
to visit Jakarta next week, was quoted by AP as saying.
Blair last visited Jakarta in early September for just a few
hours when he met with then military chief Gen. Wiranto to inform
him that military ties between the two countries had been cut.
"My visit (next week) signifies that we are at least within
talking range, so some progress has been definitely made," he
said. (byg)