The Jakarta Post (website)

June 3, 2008

Activists urge UN secretary general to hold international tribunal for Timor Leste

Matheos Viktor Messakh, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Human rights activists have sent a letter to the United Nations calling for an international tribunal to try those responsible for human rights violations during the Indonesian occupation of Timor Leste.

The letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon signed June 1, 2008 argues that the former militia leader Eurico Guterres' recent release by the Indonesian Supreme Court affirms how farcical Indonesia's judicial system is.

"The Guterres acquittal confirms that the Indonesian government is unable to deliver justice. We therefore call upon you to work towards the creation of an ad hoc international criminal tribunal for those who bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed from 1975 onwards, not just in 1999," said the statement signed by 128 organizations and individuals.

If the tribunal is not feasible, they said, the UN secretary-general should fully reconstitute the Serious Crimes Unit, providing it with sufficient resources and backing.

"This should be done in accordance with recommendations of the CAVR (East Timor's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation) Report. Namely, the UN itself should provide the resources and judicial expertise, not Timor Leste's court system. Indonesia, which is currently a member of both the Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council, must extradite for trial those charged by the Serious Crimes Unit."

Eurico Guterres was tried by Indonesia's ad hoc court for crimes against humanity on charges of murder and persecution along with 17 other defendants. However, all have walked free.

Citing the analysis by the UN's Commission of Experts (COE) about the Indonesian ad hoc court, the statement argued that Indonesia had created this court to deflect demands for an international tribunal.

The COE has concluded that the ad hoc court "was not effective in delivering justice", and revealed "scant respect for or conformity to relevant international standards".

"The COE identified major flaws such as a lack of commitment on the part of the prosecution, deficient investigations, inadequate presentation of evidence, a courtroom atmosphere that did not inspire confidence in the public mind, inconsistent verdicts and an unwillingness to utilize sound jurisprudence.

"In this context, Guterres' acquittal only highlights the flawed nature of that process," said the statement.

The letter -- signed by the Sri Lanka based Friends of the Third World, Japan East Timor Coalition, Peace Movement Aotearoa, Australian Coalition for Transitional Justice in East Timor, Canada's West Papua Action Network (WestPAN), Swedish East Timor Committee, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and West Papua Action Network -- also reminded the Security Council of its earlier commitment to bring to justice those responsible for the violence in Timor Leste, which was expressed through Resolutions 1264 and 1272 in 1999.

"Meaningful justice to the long-suffering people of Timor Leste is long overdue.

"It time for the United Nations and the international community to fulfill their long-standing commitment to see that justice is done for crimes against humanity committed in Timor-Leste."

Quoting the UN's "Updated Set of principles for the protection and promotion of human rights through action to combat impunity", the group argued that an individual previously tried in connection with a serious crime under international law could still face a more credible court.

The letter was also signed by, among others, MIT. professor Noam Chomsky, human rights activist Carmel Budiardjo, Italian senator from the Radicals-Democratic Party Marco Perduca, U.S. retired ambassador Frank Ruddy and Nagasaki University's professor Geoffrey C. Gunn.

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The Jakarta Post

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Activists Seek Int'l Court for Timor Leste

Human rights activists have sent a letter to the United Nations calling for an international tribunal to try those responsible for human rights violations in Timor Leste during the rule of Indonesia.

The letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon signed June 1, 2008 argues that the former militia leader Eurico Guterres' recent release by the Indonesian Supreme Court affirms how farcical Indonesia's judicial system is.

"The Guterres acquittal confirms that the Indonesian government is unable to deliver justice. We therefore call upon you to work towards the creation of an ad hoc international criminal tribunal for those who bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed from 1975 onwards, not just in 1999," said the statement signed by 128 organizations and individuals.

If the tribunal is not feasible, they said, the UN secretary-general should fully reconstitute the Serious Crimes Unit, providing it with sufficient resources and backing.

"This should be done in accordance with recommendations of the CAVR (Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation) Report. Namely, the UN itself should provide the resources and judicial expertise, not Timor Leste's court system. Indonesia, which is currently a member of both the (UN) Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council, must extradite for trial those charged by the Serious Crimes Unit."

Eurico Guterres was tried by Indonesia's ad hoc court for crimes against humanity along with 17 other defendants.

The letter -- signed by the Sri Lanka based Friends of the Third World, Japan East Timor Coalition, Peace Movement Aotearoa, Australian Coalition for Transitional Justice in East Timor, Canada's West Papua Action Network (WestPAN), Swedish East Timor Committee, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and West Papua Action Network -- also reminded the Security Council of its earlier commitment to bring to justice those responsible for the violence in Timor Leste, which was expressed through Resolutions 1264 and 1272 in 1999.

(JP/Matheos Viktor Messakh)