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."