[asia-apec 1841] Indonesian Judges Will Not Provide Long-Delayed Justice for East Timor

[John M. Miller]

For Immediate Release
Contact: John M. Miller, 718-5967668; mobile: 917-690-4391; john at etan.org

Newly Appointed Indonesian Judges Will Not Provide Long-Delayed Justice for 
East Timor
Rights Group Urges International Tribunal Covering Entire Occupation

January 15, 2002 -- The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) said today that 
Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri's last minute approval of judges 
for an ad hoc court on East Timor does not alter its view that the court 
will not bring to justice all, or even most of, those responsible for war 
crimes and crimes against humanity committed in East Timor.

"The multiple delays in establishing the court, its limited jurisdiction, 
and the continued impunity with which the Indonesian military operates 
throughout the archipelago only reinforce our belief that the special 
Indonesian court will be a sham," said John M. Miller, spokesperson for 
ETAN. "The Indonesian military remains too powerful and the courts too 
corrupt. Without an international tribunal, those most responsible for 
Indonesia's scorched earth campaigns in East Timor will escape punishment," 
he added.

Over the weekend, Indonesia's chief security minister Susilo Bambang 
Yudhoyono said Megawati had finally approved the names of judges to the 
court. It remains unlikely that any trials will actually begin this month 
as previously announced. As head of the team deciding prosecutions for 
crimes in East Timor, M.A. Rahman, now Attorney General, advocated only 
prosecuting low-ranking officers.

In September 2000, Indonesian prosecutors named 23 suspects, the highest 
ranking a two-star general, for violence surrounding 1999's referendum on 
independence. The list was later whittled down to just 19, following the 
murder of one militia leader and the claim by the Attorney General's office 
that they could not find several others. The list of suspects, shortened 
from a January 2000 list issued by the Indonesian Human Rights Commission, 
does not reach to the highest levels of the military command implicated by 
United Nations and other investigations.

Last August, the Megawati administration amended the decree establishing a 
special human rights court on East Timor. The revised decree falls far 
short of fully addressing the military's role in orchestrating the violence 
and devastation. It only covers selected incidents from April and September 
1999 in three out of East Timor's 13 districts.

"No one will be tried for the many atrocities that occurred outside of 
those time periods and locations, or for the coordination of the 
scorched-earth campaign by senior level security forces personnel. The many 
crimes specifically directed at women will also not be prosecuted. Many 
East Timorese victims and witnesses will be too afraid to travel to 
Indonesia and will not testify," said Miller.

"These limitations mean that the military's role in orchestrating the 
violence and devastation throughout 1999 will not be fully addressed and 
meaningful convictions are unlikely. Further, no one responsible for 
Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor and most of the massive crimes 
committed during Indonesia's two decades of occupation will be held 
accountable," he added.

On October 24 2001, a coalition of East Timorese non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs) wrote the United Nations, "We all must face the 
reality that... [Indonesian courts are] not capable of holding those 
responsible to account. After initial glimmers of hope, subsequent 
political turmoil and instability and ensuing continual revisions to the 
mandate and scope of any Ad Hoc Tribunal which is to be established, ha[ve] 
clearly demonstrated that Indonesia is both incapable and unwilling to take 
responsibility for prosecuting those culpable for the crimes against 
humanity in East Timor."

The NGOs called for an international tribunal to prosecute those 
responsible. The same conclusion was reached by the UN's International 
Commission of Inquiry on East Timor. The NGOs said that prosecutions are 
"necessary for the nation building process of and reconciliation for East 
Timor. Instead, we are facing the dark reality of such impunity 
characterizing our future."

Last September, a U.S. District Court held Indonesian General Johny 
Lumintang liable for $66 million in damages. The judge's decision, in a 
lawsuit on behalf of six East Timorese victims of military and militia 
violence in 1999, found Lumintang, vice chief of staff of the army at the 
time, "both directly and indirectly responsible for human rights violations 
committed against" East Timorese in 1999. Lumintang is not among the 
suspects to be prosecuted by Indonesia.

Following the August 30, 1999 UN-organized referendum, the Indonesian 
military and their militia systematically destroyed East Timor, murdering 
at least 1500 East Timorese, destroying over 70 percent of the 
infrastructure and raping hundreds of women. Hundreds of thousands were 
forced from their homes.

The East Timor Action Network/U.S. (ETAN) supports human dignity for the 
people of East Timor by advocating for democracy, sustainable development, 
social, legal, and economic justice and human rights, including women's 
rights. ETAN has 28 local chapters throughout the U.S. For additional 
information see ETAN's web site (http://www.etan.org).

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John M. Miller         Internet: john at etan.org
Media & Outreach Coordinator, East Timor Action Network
48 Duffield St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 USA
Phone: (718)596-7668      Fax: (718)222-4097
Mobile phone: (917)690-4391
Web site: http://www.etan.org

Support ETAN, to contribute go to http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm

Send a blank e-mail message to info at etan.org to find out
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