Update On Situation In East Timor

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2001

Contact: John M. Miller, (718) 596-7688; (917) 690-4391; john [at] etan.org

East Timor Still Awaits Justice One Year After UN Call for International

Tribunal

The East Timor Action Network/U.S. (ETAN) today criticized the UN and
its
member states for their failure to act on the UN\'s international
commission
of inquiry recommendation one year ago today to create an international
tribunal for East Timor. Today also marks the first anniversary of the
report by the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (KPP-HAM) which
recommended the investigation and prosecution of high-ranking Indonesian

military and political figures and East Timorese militia members.

\"We are deeply disturbed that a year has passed since both inquiries and
no
steps have been taken to address these severe human rights abuses with
an
international tribunal and no one has been prosecuted in Indonesia,\"
said
John M. Miller, spokesperson for the East Timor Action Network/U.S.

ETAN called on the United States government and other nations to
actively
support an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for
serious human rights abuses and crimes against humanity in East Timor in

1999 but going back to 1975 when Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese

colony.

\"We are extremely troubled that not one country in last week\'s open
Security Council debate on East Timor mentioned a tribunal. An
international tribunal is the only way to ensure that most victims of
Indonesian military and militia violence in East Timor will see justice
for
crimes committed against them, allowing them to move forward with their
lives and rebuilding their new nation,\" said Miller.

\"Many analysts believe that the prospect of a tribunal will encourage
Indonesian efforts to prosecute its generals and other high-level
military
and civilian personnel. Such a tactic is completely ineffective if the
threat is left unspoken,\" Miller added.

Charles Scheiner, National Coordinator of ETAN who recently returned
from
six weeks in East Timor, found overwhelming public support for a
tribunal.

\"Indonesian efforts to prosecute those responsible for East Timor\'s
destruction are bound to fail because many East Timorese victims and
witnesses are terrified of traveling to the country whose generals
ordered
the crimes against them. Their fears will prevent them from testifying
against military and militia leaders who have enjoyed impunity for many
years,\" said Scheiner. \"No matter how serious an Indonesian judicial
process might be, justice cannot be achieved if witnesses fear to
testify.\"

Both Indonesian and UN prosecutorial efforts have proven inadequate. No
Indonesian military personnel have been prosecuted for atrocities
committed
during 1999 either before and after East Timor\'s referendum. Last fall
Indonesia amended its constitution, creating legal obstacles to
prosecuting
those responsible for past human rights abuses, especially those who
gave
orders.

The defiant refusal of the Indonesian military to cooperate with UN
investigations into the 1999 atrocities, as well as the many other
practical and political obstacles, has convinced many Indonesian, East
Timorese, and international organizations that an international tribunal
is
now the only viable option to bring to justice military and militia
leaders
responsible for atrocities in East Timor.

UN prosecutions in East Timor are fraught with procedural and other
problems. Scheiner attended the first day of the trial of Joao Fernandes
in
Dili District Court on January 10. He observed a lack of resources and
professionalism in the prosecution, the defense, and the management of
the
court.

\"If justice is to be achieved in East Timor, court procedures and due
process should be of unquestionable integrity and the Dili District
Court
so far fails to meet even minimal standards for a fair trial,\" he
concluded. Fernandes pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 12
years.

\"An international tribunal will also deter ongoing rights violations
throughout Indonesia and promote reconciliation in East Timor,\" noted
Miller. \"Without a tribunal only lower-level East Timorese militia
members
in East Timor are likely to face justice, while militia leaders remain
unscathed and Indonesian military officers who gave the orders and
designed
the policies are free to retain positions of prestige and power in
Indonesia.\"

Both Indonesian and UN prosecutorial efforts have sharply limited their
scope to a handful of better-known incidents.

When the KPP-HAM issued its report, Indonesia\'s Attorney General
Darusman
Marzuki promised that it would take three to six months to decide
whether
to file charges against military, militia and political leaders named in

the report. Over a year later no charges have been filed. Marzuki, while

continuing his investigation, faces opposition from politicians and
others
who view those who ransacked East Timor as national heroes.

The UN International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor wrote in its
January 31, 2000 report to the UN Secretary General: \"The intimidation,
terror, destruction of property, displacement and evacuation of people
[in
1999] would not have been possible without the active involvement of the

Indonesian army, and the knowledge and approval of the top military
command.\" The KPP-HAM investigation reached similar conclusions.

The UN inquiry recommended that \"The United Nations should establish an
international human rights tribunal consisting of judges appointed by
the
United Nations, preferably with the participation of members from East
Timor and Indonesia.\"

On August 30, 1999, the people of East Timor, defying threats and
violence,
turned out in record numbers to vote overwhelmingly for independence.
Following the vote, Indonesian troops and their militia proxies
destroyed
some 70% of the country\'s infrastructure, killed more than 1500 people,
and
forced hundreds of thousands across the border into Indonesia where
approximately 100,000 remain.

Indonesia invaded neighboring East Timor on December 7, 1975, hours
after a
state visit to Jakarta by then President Gerald Ford and Secretary of
State
Henry Kissinger. According to human rights groups, one-third of the
population -- more than 200,000 East Timorese -- killed in subsequent
years
as the U.S. provided weapons and political support under both Democratic

and Republican administrations.

The East Timor Action Network/ U.S. (ETAN) was founded in November 1991
to
support East Timorese self-determination. ETAN now works for a peaceful
transition to independence in East Timor. It has 28 local chapters
throughout the U.S.

For additional background, see ETAN\'s website http://www.etan.org.

For Immediate Release

Contact:
John M. Miller, ETAN, 718-596-7668, 917-690-4391(mobile)
Lynn Fredriksson, IHRN, 202-546-0044

RIGHTS GROUPS AFFIRM SUPPORT FOR CONTINUING SUSPENSION OF MILITARY TIES
WITH INDONESIA

Groups Say Cut-Off Necessary to Promote Democracy and Human Rights

The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) and the Indonesia Human Rights
Network
(IHRN) have urged the new Bush administration to keep military ties
between
the U.S. and Indonesia suspended, saying the Indonesian military has yet
to
make crucial reforms.

Spokespersons for the two organizations concerned with human rights in
Indonesia and East Timor, said that since the Indonesian military (TNI)
continues to promote conflict and operate largely with impunity, the
U.S.
should not provide any training, equipment or other support

\"Shipping hardware to the Indonesian military will severely set back
efforts to achieve democracy and respect for human rights in Indonesia,\"

said Lynn Fredriksson, acting coordinator for IHRN. \"Anyone familiar
with
the ongoing conflicts in West Papua, Aceh and Maluku/the Moluccas knows
that the TNI is at best impeding resolution; more often it is an
exceedingly brutal central cause of the problem.\"

Indonesian officials and some others have asked the U.S. to provide
communications and transportation equipment to the TNI. They claim that
this equipment is needed for the military to deal with conflicts in
Aceh,
Maluku, West Timor and elsewhere in Indonesia.

When asked at his confirmation hearing about resuming arms sales to
Indonesia, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said that while \"every
nation has the right of legitimate self-defense,\" he needed to examine
the
matter further.

\"We are sure that when Secretary Powell conducts his examination, he
will
find that the Indonesian military remains focused on repression, not
national defense,\" said John M. Miller, spokesperson for ETAN. \"The
record
shows that the TNI views any U.S. support as an endorsement of its worst

abuses, not as encouragement to reform,\" he added.

\"The U.S. must not support TNI before Indonesia fully meets its repeated

pledges to the international community, including the safe return of
East
Timorese refugees and disarming and disbanding of militia groups in West

Timor. Indonesian authorities must arrest and extradite militia leaders
and
must cooperate with the creation of an international human rights
tribunal
for crimes committed in East Timor. Most critically, there must be
civilian
control of the Indonesian military. If the Bush administration genuinely

supports democracy in Indonesia, it must make its commitment clear to
the
Indonesian military,\" said Miller.

\"The territorial command structure and the deep involvement of the
military
in business are other major roadblocks to reform,\" added Fredriksson.

In early September 1999, the U.S. suspended military ties and economic
assistance to Indonesia while the Indonesian military and its militias
were
destroying East Timor following the August 30 vote for independence.
Soon
after, the Indonesian military began to withdraw from East Timor and an
international peacekeeping force entered. In November 1999, the U.S.
Congress legislated conditions on resuming military support: safe return
of
East Timorese refugees, effective prosecution of military and militia
members responsible for human rights atrocities in East Timor and
Indonesia, and other conditions regarding East Timor\'s security.

Nevertheless, the U.S. military began a planned phased re-engagement
with
the Indonesian military last spring. Indonesian officers took part as
observers in a U.S.-sponsored Cobra Gold military exercise in Thailand
in
May. In July, the Indonesian navy, marines, and coast guard trained in
East
Java with their U.S. military counterparts in a joint U.S.-Indonesian
exercise called CARAT/2000. All military ties were again suspended in
early
September following the killings of three UN workers, including a U.S.
citizen, assisting refugees in West Timor. Congress reaffirmed the
legislated restrictions in the fall of 2000.

Approximately 100,000 East Timorese remain virtual hostages in West
Timor,
15 months after TNI and its paramilitaries forced them there. Removing
the
TNI-supported militias from squalid refugee camps would allow many to
return to East Timor, which is expected to become independent within a
year. The TNI has been unwilling or unable to disarm the militia or to
separate them from the refugees.

The East Timor Action Network/ U.S. (ETAN) was founded in November 1991
to
support East Timorese self-determination. ETAN supports human rights in
Indonesia and works for a peaceful transition to independence in East
Timor. It has 28 local chapters throughout the U.S.

The recently-formed Indonesia Human Rights Network (IHRN) works to
promote
U.S. foreign policy which supports democracy, human rights and rule of
law
in Indonesia.

For additional background see http://www.etan.org.




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