The Sydney Morning Herald, February 26 2003
Wiranto on charge if he leaves Indonesia
By Jill Jolliffe in Darwin and Tom Allard in Canberra
United Nations prosecutors have charged the former Indonesian defence chief General
Wiranto with crimes against humanity for his role in the violence surrounding East
Timor's 1999 referendum on independence.
Five other officers have also been accused, along with ex-governor Abilio Osorio
Soares.
Stuart Alford of Dili's Serious Crimes Unit said arrest warrants for murder, deportation
and persecution as crimes against humanity will be forwarded to the Indonesian
Government and to Interpol. However, Jakarta has refused to extradite those accused,
so they are unlikely to face trial unless they leave the country.
"The evidence against General Wiranto is supported by over 1500 witness
statements," Mr Alford said. "He made frequent visits to East Timor at the time of the
violence, and met with key figures on the ground whose responsibility was to stop
crime and punish the wrongdoers. Instead, most were later promoted."
Officers charged with Wiranto, who served as a soldier in East Timor in the early
years of Indonesia's occupation, are major-generals Zacky Anwar Makarim, Kiki
Syahnakri and Adam Rachmat Damiri, colonels Tono Suratman and Mohammad Noer
Muis, and Lieutenant-Colonel Yayat Sudrajat.
Under the UN's two-track system of war crimes prosecutions, some of the accused
have already been tried by Indonesia's special court on East Timor.
Damiri, ex-regional military commander, and Suratman, former East Timor
commander, are awaiting verdicts, while Sudrajat was cleared of involvement in the
April 1999 massacre of villagers in Liquica church. Soares is free on bail pending an
appeal against a four-year sentence over massacres in Dili.
The indictment lists 280 murders and 10 major attacks before and after the
referendum on August 30, 1999.
The Serious Crimes Unit has been hamstrung by Jakarta's refusal to extradite those
accused. Under the UN system, they cannot be tried in absentia. However, an Interpol
warrant will prevent General Wiranto and his co-accused from travelling abroad without
fear of arrest.
Prosecutions have also been limited by the paralysis of East Timor's courts and the
divided views of local politicians towards war crimes trials. The Prime Minister, Mari
Alkatiri, supports them, while President Xanana Gusmao is opposed.
In another development, Mr Alkatiri has described new border attacks as a deliberate
action by militiamen to create instability.
One man was killed and four people injured when a group of masked men fired on a
bus on Monday around 20 kilometres from the West Timor border.
Australian and Portuguese troops are hunting the attackers.
The Federal Government has warned Australians in East Timor to exhibit "extreme
caution". Travel advice issued yesterday said: "Threats against Australians ... in East
Timor are high."
The al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, has identified Australia's role in East Timor
as evidence it is an enemy of Islam.
Copyright © 2003. The Sydney Morning Herald.
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