West and Asia clash at UN rights session on East Timor

West and Asia clash at UN rights session on East Timor

GENEVA (Reuters): Western and Asian states clashed on Thursday at a special session devoted to East Timor by the UN main human rights body, threatening the establishment of an international inquiry into atrocities, diplomats said.

Asian member states including China, Japan and India closed ranks around Indonesia, strongly objecting to the meeting having been convened after a disputed narrow vote in favor this week.

The first day of the two-day talks in Geneva ended after a heated three-hour debate pitting East against West.

On Friday, the European Union is to present a resolution calling on UN chief Kofi Annan to set up an international inquiry to establish responsibility for atrocities in East Timor since the independence ballot was announced in January.

Previous inquiries have led to the Security Council setting up war crimes tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

To be adopted, a resolution requires a simply majority of "yes" votes by the 53 member states.

The 11 Asian members enjoy support from Cuba and other developing countries, and some states are expected to abstain from voting, diplomats said. This could mean a close vote.

Western countries including former colonial power Portugal, Germany, and Canada, took the floor to condemn gross violations and declare that should be no impunity for perpetrators.

East Timor resistance leader Jose Ramos-Horta accused Indonesian forces of "war crimes and genocide" and said that the Security Council should set up a international tribunal and slap economic sanctions on Indonesia.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who was speaking to reporters at the start of the talks, was to address the forum along with his 1996 co-laureate Bishop Carlos Belo on Friday.

Francisco Seixas da Costa, Portugal's secretary of state for European Affairs, denounced the "living nightmare" and "systemic pattern of terror" in East Timor.

"The Commission on Human Rights has the duty to investigate..." he said. "There should be no impunity for those who have perpetrated the destruction and the killings."

Canada's envoy denounced a "chilling catalog of cruelty", adding: "Impunity would be unconscionable."

But Asians challenged the validity of holding the talks, called for by Portugal. The decision had "discounted the unanimous view of an entire region".

"Any act by the UN system including the Commission should contribute to the stability of the situation and not exacerbate it," the Sri Lankan delegate declared on behalf of the region.

Indonesia's ambassador Hassan Wirajuda also challenged the legality of holding the session, the fourth in the Commission's 53-year history. He also said the forum "lacked impartiality".

"Indonesia's participation is proof of its full commitment to cooperating with UN human rights mechanism," he added.

"...for all the preparations, precautionary measures and resources at our disposal, the Indonesian security apparatus found themselves overwhelmed by the voracity of violent reactions from pro-integration groups who were angered by claims that the vote was marred by foul play," Wirajuda said.

"Let there be no mistake: it is in the Indonesian national interest to see a peaceful and orderly transfer of authority to the United Nations, once the People's Assembly formally endorses the partition of East Timor from Indonesia.

"The Indonesian government will also ensure that the human rights -- civil, political, social economic and cultural -- of all East Timorese, bar none, are promoted and protected in the post-transition period," he added.

But Ramos Horta told reporters at the Geneva talks: "The evidence is increasingly strong for a war crimes tribunal.

"The Indonesia army cannot be trusted or relied on to be a partner of the multinational force to ensure security in East Timor," he said.

"They are the ones responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in East Timor. There is even more urgency and pressure on the Security Council to call for a war crimes tribunal and total economic sanctions on the Republic of Indonesia."