ABC AUSTRALIA, 25/02/2003 14:07:45
UN brings charges against Indonesian officers
United Nations prosecutors in East Timor have charged the former head of Indonesia's
armed forces, General Wiranto, with crimes against humanity.
The general is among eight high ranking officers indicted over the violence that hit the
former Indonesian province in 1999.
The other seven include East Timor's former Governor Abilio Soares and senior
Indonesian military officers Zacky Anwar Makarim and Colonel Suhartono Suratman.
The accused have all been charged with the murder or persecution of independence
supporters in East Timor before and after the independence ballot in August 1999.
Indonesia has consistently ignored similar charges against other military figures,
meaning there is little likelihood that General Wiranto or the other accused will face
any court in East Timor.
Abilio Soares has already been convicted in an Indonesian court but is awaiting an
appeal, a process that could take years.
25/02/2003 14:07:45 | ABC Radio Australia News
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