Fax the President of Indonesia

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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono c/o Embassy of Indonesia to the U.S. 2020 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Dear President Yudhoyono, I urge you to remove Col. Burhanuddin Siagian as commander of the Jayapura sub-regional military command (Korem 172/ PWY/Jayapura) in Papua. Col. Siagian has been indicted twice for crimes against humanity in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) and is unfit for command. We urge you to extradite him to East Timor for trial and to work with the international community to ensure that Col. Siagian and others indicted in East Timor are brought to trial. In addition to his troublesome background, we are concerned by recent statements by Col. Siagian threatening Papuan human rights activists and nonviolent political activists. A report in the Cenderawasih Pos on 12 May 2007, quoted Col. Siagian as saying that “anyone who has enjoyed the facilities that belong to the state, but who still betrays the nation, I honestly will destroy him.” In July he said “(W)hat is absolutely certain is that anyone who tends towards separatism will be crushed by TNI," adding "we are not afraid of human rights.” These threats echo similar statements he allegedly made while he had a command in East Timor in 1999. Those statements appear to have led directly to the deaths of a number of Timorese civilians. Indonesia's failure to hold Col. Siagian and others accountable for their human rights crimes encourages security personnel to believe that they will not be held accountable for serious crimes and undermines Indonesia's progress towards a country that fully respects human rights and the rule of law. Meaningful military reform will not be possible until serious efforts are made to end this cycle of impunity. Yours sincerely,