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24-12-2004 12:23:00. Fonte LUSA. Notícia SIR-6619534 Temas:

East Timor: Activists denounce proposed 'truth commission' on 1999 atrocities

Dili, Dec. 24 (Lusa) - An East Timorese human rights group has denounced plans by Dili and Jakarta to create a bilateral "truth commission" as an attempt to whitewash Indonesian atrocities committed at the time of the Timorese independence plebiscite.

The joint proposal, presented to the United Nations Tuesday, "prefers to assure impunity for and protect those responsible for violations of human rights", the East Timorese National Alliance for an International Tribunal (ANTL) charged Thursday.

In a communiqué, ANTL said it had written to UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan, asking the United Nations to "participate in a more active way" to guarantee justice for victims of Jakarta's scorched-earth campaign in 1999.

The Truth and Friendship Commission proposed directly to Annan by the Timorese and Indonesian foreign ministers "frustrates the expectations of victims" for "justice through a legal process", ANTL said.

In announcing the joint initiative at the UN in New York Tuesday, Dili's José Ramos Horta and Jakarta's Hassan Wirayuda said the idea of the commission had been approved by their presidents in a Dec. 14 meeting and that the body should be operational next month.

EL/SAS.

Lusa

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