[asia-apec 1852] 10 Reasons Why Indonesian Courts Will Not Bring Justice to E Timor

[John M. Miller]

For Immediate Release

Contact: John M. Miller, (718)596-7668; 917-690-4391 (mobile)
john at etan.org

10 Reasons Why Indonesian Courts Will Not Bring Justice to East Timor

14 March 2002 -- In January 2000, the United Nations International 
Commission of Inquiry on East Timor and the Indonesian government's own 
human rights commission both found the Indonesian military responsible for 
crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999. The UN commission 
called for the establishment of an international tribunal. The Indonesian 
government balked at the possibility of international trials and in 
response promised to establish its own Ad Hoc Human Rights Court for East 
Timor. After numerous delays, prosecutions are expected to begin today in 
Jakarta.

The East Timor Action Network, along with most Indonesian and East Timorese 
human rights groups, does not expect these trials to be thorough or 
impartial or to provide justice for the people of East Timor. Here are 10 
reasons why:

1. The Court's limited jurisdiction covers only April and September 1999 
and only three of East Timor's 13 districts -- Suai, Liquicia and Dili. 
Numerous serious crimes committed in 1999 in East Timor will not be 
prosecuted. This piecemeal approach makes impossible prosecution of overall 
coordination by Indonesian security forces and political officials at the 
highest levels to disrupt the UN consultation, terrorize the East Timorese 
people before the vote and punish them for voting overwhelmingly in favor 
of independence. Many of these officials are not even listed as suspects.

2. The crimes were committed in East Timor, a territory never 
internationally recognized as Indonesian. They were committed against a UN 
mission created by the Security Council and involved assaults on both East 
Timorese and UN personnel. East Timorese staff of the UN mission were 
murdered in the aftermath of the ballot.

3. The Indonesian military (TNI) remains extremely powerful and continues 
to operate with impunity. Many members of the military accused of crimes 
against humanity and other abuses in East Timor continue to hold prominent 
positions and receive promotions. While the military may allow a few token 
prosecutions as a public relations effort to create the illusion of TNI 
reform and to re-establish military ties with the U.S., meaningful 
prosecutions of high-ranking officials are unlikely to be tolerated. As the 
head of the team deciding prosecutions for crimes in East Timor, 
Indonesia's Attorney General M.A. Rahman recommended that only low-ranking 
officers be prosecuted.

4. The Court will not address crimes committed before April 1999. Most of the
more than 200,000 East Timorese killed by Indonesian forces died in the 
first decade after the 1975 invasion. Since 1975, thousands were raped, 
imprisoned and tortured. With courts in East Timor overwhelmed and severely 
under-resourced, and Indonesia refusing to extradite suspects, despite an 
agreement with the UN administration, victims and their families are 
unlikely to see justice unless an international tribunal is created.

5. Indonesian prosecutors have not targeted any of the many systematic 
crimes committed against women in 1999, including rape and sexual slavery, 
as well as widespread forced sterilization during many years of the 
occupation.

6. East Timorese witnesses are unlikely to testify. They have been 
traumatized by decades of Indonesian occupation and, given the military and 
police refusal to ensure security during the UN ballot period, are 
distrustful of Indonesian commitments to protect them. The last minute 
issuance of untested witness protection regulations will not reassure anyone.

7. While Indonesia's constitution bars retroactive prosecution, Indonesia's 
legislature stated that this constitutional provision will not apply to 
past violations of internationally-recognized human rights heard by Ad Hoc 
Human Rights Courts. An appeals court may well rule that the constitution 
is paramount and overturn any convictions.

8. Many of the judges are unqualified, with little or no trial experience 
or knowledge of international human rights standards. Some have close ties 
to the Indonesian military.

9. Indonesian courts are notoriously corrupt and susceptible to political 
pressure. The U.S. State Department's Country Report on Human Rights 
Practices described Indonesia's judiciary as riddled with "pervasive 
corruption" and "subordinated to the executive."

10. In the rare instances when low- or mid-level soldiers or militia were 
prosecuted, Indonesian courts have given light punishments for the most 
heinous human rights abuses. After the November 12, 1991 Santa Cruz 
massacre in East Timor, a Military Honor Council sentenced some low ranking 
soldiers to between eight and 18 months in prison. Several higher-ranking 
officers were "punished" by being sent abroad to study. On the other hand, 
East Timorese human rights activists who participated in the Santa Cruz 
protest and a Jakarta demonstration protesting the massacre were imprisoned 
for up to 15 years. More recently, militia members who confessed to 
brutally killing three UN refugee workers in West Timor initially received 
sentences of 10-20 months after they were convicted for inciting mob 
violence not murder. These were increased to a maximum of seven years only 
after an international outcry.




etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan
John M. Miller         Internet: john at etan.org

Media & Outreach Coordinator
East Timor Action Network: 10 Years for Self-Determination & Justice

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, make a secure financial contribution: 
http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm

Send a blank e-mail message to info at etan.org to find out
how to learn more about East Timor on the Internet
etanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetanetan