REUTERS, Tuesday February 25, 2003 05:34 AM ET
Indonesia Ex-Military Chief Indicted Over E. Timor
By Jerry Norton and Achmad Sukarsono
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The United Nations has charged a former Indonesian armed
forces chief, six other military officers and a civilian official with crimes against
humanity over violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote for independence.
In addition to General Wiranto, who was armed forces chief at the time of the
independence vote, the indictment named six Indonesian military officers and the
former Indonesian governor of East Timor, Abilio Soares.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment under East
Timorese law, but thus far Indonesia has not sent any of its nationals to East Timor to
face trials in such cases.
Wiranto has consistently denied any wrongdoing in East Timor. He has been
mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2004 by a top political party.
"The accused have all been charged with crimes against humanity for murder,
deportation and persecution in that these crimes were all undertaken as part of a
widespread or systematic attack," against East Timor civilians, the serious crimes
unit of the U.N. Mission of Support said in a statement Tuesday.
Indonesian forces invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed the former Portuguese
colony the following year.
The United Nations estimates more than 1,000 people were killed in the 1999
violence, most of them independence supporters. Much of the killing was done by
pro-Jakarta militia groups the U.N. indictment says acted with military backing.
The U.N. statement said the indictment was filed Monday in the district court in East
Timor's capital, Dili, and it "documents more than 280 murders based on over 1,500
witness statements and reports."
A lawyer for Wiranto, Yan Juanda, said he learned of the indictment from a U.N. press
statement and was not aware of any arrest warrants issued by the Dili court.
"Why all of a sudden? We are very surprised with this indictment especially when the
country (Indonesia) is dealing with similar cases on East Timor," Juanda told Reuters.
Indonesia established a special human rights court about a year ago to handle cases
covering the violence in East Timor, and has thus far sent no Indonesian nationals to
East Timor itself to face trial there.
When asked whether Wiranto was guilty of crimes against humanity, Juanda said:
"Wiranto was one of the figures that tried to achieve peace, he was one of the
saviours, he evacuated the U.N. staff to a secure place -- it's not his fault."
"NO EXTRADITION"
The Indonesian rights court last year found former East Timor governor Soares guilty
of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to three years in jail. He is appealing
that verdict.
The United Nations ran East Timor after the August 1999 vote until the territory was
declared formally independent in May last year but it still has a mission there.
Several others on the U.N. indictment list have been named in the human rights cases
underway in Indonesia, but not Wiranto. Human rights groups have said Wiranto, as
overall military commander, bore ultimate responsibility for the violence.
In the 1999 ballot, East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence after 24
years of Indonesian rule.
Indonesian Justice Ministry spokesman R.H. Tjapa told Reuters the government had
received no request from East Timor regarding the indictments, but added: "We don't
have (an extradition) agreement with East Timor, therefore, we would not extradite
them."
But U.N. serious crimes unit prosecutor in East Timor Stuart Alford said the lack of an
agreement should not necessarily be a barrier for the accused being sent to the
territory, adding arrest warrants would be lodged with Interpol.
He said it was up to the international community to pressure Indonesia if it failed to
co-operate.
"We believe that the international community has the responsibility to decide which
direction they want to go with it," Alford told Reuters by telephone from Dili.
Many Indonesians feel East Timor should have stayed part of the country and
sympathized with the army effort to hold onto it.
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