Subject: ETISC: Getting Away with Murder (Pt 1 of 4)
Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 18:31:22 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>(Part 1 of 4) East Timor
International Support Center
GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER A Chronology of Indonesian Military sponsored Paramilitary and
Militia Atrocities in East Timor from November 1998 to May 1999
Published by ETISC 15 May 1999
Introduction
According to a United Nations brokered agreement signed between Indonesia and Portugal
on 5 May 1999, the UN is to conduct a consultation of the East Timor population on August
8 1999. (ETISC's Occasional Paper Nº 1 ‘Indonesian Orchestrated Savagery in East
Timor' critically examines the various components of the agreement). The East Timorese are
to decide if they want to accept or reject an offer of autonomy within Indonesia made by
President B.J. Habibie. If they reject it, Indonesia will withdraw from the territory. The
Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI – formerly ABRI) are covertly trying to undermine the
process, arming militia squads of Timorese (from East and West Timor). Under the
supervision of TNI personnel, Timorese are being trained, paid, equipped and encouraged to
kill, torture and intimidate the East Timorese population into voting for autonomy.
Supporters of independence are being subjected to extreme brutality and death. The numbers
of victims of the violence fostered by TNI has reached alarming levels, deeply disrupting
normal life in East Timor, and adding to the already considerable suffering of the people
of this troubled territory. Holding a Consultation of the will of the people under such
conditions is impossible. The result would totally fail to reflect the true preference of
the people, and could therefore not be considered legitimate.
According to the 5 May agreement, the UN Secretary-General has until 13 June to decide
if the conditions in the territory make a consultation possible. It is the view of the
East Timor International Support Center (ETISC) that unless drastic measures are taken at
once, and security in East Timor is assured by a force other than the Indonesian Armed
Forces, a fair Consultation will not be possible. The first step which is immediately
required is the effective disarming of the TNI created militias.
The present document has been compiled by ETISC. It is published with the aim of
impressing upon international public opinion, and in particular, on those responsible for
influencing or determining policy regarding East Timor in various government and
non-government organisations, the huge extent of the violence that has been inflicted by
the TNI created militias in East Timor since their creation in the latter part of 1998.
Excerpts from the chronology
On 25 January Mahidi militia attacked Galitas village. They burnt the houses of the
residents, then sadistically killed a pregnant woman. After shooting her dead, they cut up
her corpse. With a knife, they cut open her abdomen and pulled out the foetus. Five other
residents of the village were also killed including her father who was beheaded and her
brother.
On 6 April Besi Merah Putih militia, Indonesian armed forces and police from Liquiça
surrounded the Liquiça church where 2000 people were seeking refuge from previous
violence. The police shot tear gas into the church and gunshots into the air which gave a
chance for the militia to enter the church grounds and shoot at the people in the church.
The people sprayed by the tear gas ran outside of the church with their eyes closed then
Besi Merah Putih began to massacre the people with arrows and spears. An eyewitness said
"they shot and hacked at people as though they were killing animals. Even when people
were raising their arms to surrender, they were still shot and hacked". 62 people
were slaughtered. On 7 April an Indonesian army spokesman gave his version of the Liquiça
massacre: "five separatists were killed after opening fire at soldiers".
On 17 April a pro-autonomy rally was held in Dili outside the Governor's office
attended by a number of militia groups and the military and military commander, police
representatives, the Governor and pro-autonomy civilians. Eurico Guterres urged his army
trained militia men to "conduct a cleansing of all those who have betrayed
integration. Capture and kill them, if you need to". Fearing attacks by the militia,
Manuel Carrascalao, a pro-independence leader who was housing 143 refugees, asked the
military commander for help to guard his home. Colonel Suratman flatly refused. "The
military must remain neutral," he said. Around 2pm one hundred militia stormed Manuel
Carrascalao's home. Some family members and the refugees were trapped, unarmed. They lay
hugging the floor, screaming and weeping in terror as the shots and rocks blasted through
the windows at the front of the house. Up to 12 people were killed including Manuel's
18-year-old son. Diplomatic sources said the militia attack was discussed at a senior
security co-ordination meeting held at the armed forces headquarters in Jakarta, and was
attended by General Wiranto, Udayana military commander Major General Adam Damiri and East
Timor military commander Colonel Tono Suratman.
On 26 April in Bobonaro, the militia cut off the ear of a 20 year old youth, forcing
him to eat and swallow it whilst having a machete to his throat. Then more than twenty of
them trampled on his back and front, after finishing they delivered him, nearly dead, to
the military.
Background
The Indonesian armed forces, TNI, have had a free hand in East Timor since the invasion
in December 1975. Military presence in East Timor is extremely high. Leaked military
documents have revealed that military numbers are in the region of 20,000. This means one
soldier per 40 inhabitants in East Timor, a ratio that is seven to nine times higher than
the ratio in Indonesia. In addition, the military has a record of using East Timorese
civilians to intimidate their fellow countrymen into supporting Indonesia and authorities
have repeatedly expressed the need to arm civilians in order to "maintain
security".
Military intelligence operatives have penetrated most segments of society. The SGI - an
acronym of SATGAS-INT (Task Force Intelligence) is the intelligence arm of Kopassus
(Special Forces, the ‘red berets'). These are an ‘elite' force in the army and
wield great influence, especially in East Timor. Retired General Benny Murdani and
Lieutenant-General Prabowo Subianto, the now disgraced son-in law of ex-president
Soeharto, are from this background. The use of local militia units was pioneered in the
1980s by Prabowo and the Timorese fighters he trained and armed are now the core of the
militias.
Major General Adam Damiri, with strong Soeharto connections, heads Kodam IX, the
Bali-based Udayana military region which includes East Timor. He was chief of staff of the
vital Jakarta military garrison when that command was headed by Major General Syafrie
Syamsuddin, a former Soeharto bodyguard and presidential favourite and he was hand-picked
by Prabowo to command the 1st infantry Division of Kostrad, one of two key units in
Indonesia's 27,000-strong Army Strategic Reserve. Australian intelligence has reported
that General Damiri is particularly determined to deflect any move to independence.
Another key person within this system is Brigadier Mahidi Simbolon, the second in
command of Kodam IX. He has a Kopassus and SGI background and has spent a large part of
his career in East Timor, including being military commander there. He led the campaign to
arrest Xanana Gusmao. He has been quoted as outlining the policy to "use the Timorese
to crush the Timorese". Reliable information links him to the dirty tricks taking
place in Timor now.
The military officer immediately responsible for East Timor is Colonel Tono Suratman, a
Kopassus officer who heads the local Korem (Military District) command. He has Soeharto
connections. His family are the co-owners of a pearling company with Soeharto's daughter
who is also General Prabowo Subianto's wife.
The Indonesian military created in the 1980s and 1990s in all 13 districts of East
Timor, the so-called "tim" paramilitary teams. These teams act on direct orders
from Indonesian officers. Used as a backup force for military operations to combat the
resistance, they are responsible for many of the human rights violations. More recently
paramilitary gangs have been formed which are tacitly backed by the regular armed forces.
They often wear red and white headbands (the colour of the Indonesian flag) and carry
machetes or other weapons but do not wear uniforms.
TNI's last major military operations in East Timor, conducted in early November 1998
and directed against East Timor's armed resistance, were publicly condemned by UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan. Consequently to avert further damage to TNI's image, the
Indonesian armed forces seem to be resorting to the use of Timorese militias which have
flourished since Indonesian President B.J. Habibie's proposal in January 1999 that
independence would be considered "should the Timorese not agree to autonomy".
Some of the paramilitaries are in the pay of the military intelligence/SGI, i.e.
receive Kopassus backing and may have the financial support of the Soeharto family,
including Prabowo. East Timor is the Indonesian "province" with the second
largest landholdings under control of the Soeharto family, namely 564,867 hectares. CNRT
(National Council for Timorese Resistance), the umbrella organisation of all the
resistance groups, stated in March 1999 that they planned to seize all these properties
after independence had been obtained. Batara Indra, an Indonesian conglomerate backed by
retired Generals Benny Moerdani and Dading Kalbuadi, (both behind the killings of
Australian-based journalists in Balibo and Dili in 1975), controls the sandalwood forests
of East Timor, including the production of sandalwood oil and sandalwood powder for
export. Batara Indra also exports statues to Taiwan and to Italy made from East Timorese
sandalwood and marble. Most of the hotels and the only cinema in Dili are owned by Batara
Indra, while all the large construction firms in Dili, which are involved in all the large
infrastructure projects, including building the irrigation canals and ditches for
Indonesian "transmigrants", either belong to Benny Moerdani's Batara Indra
Group, or to the Anak Liambau Group of the Jakarta-appointed East Timorese governor,
Abilio Osorio Soares. The newest militia gangs are in the pay of local politicians,
notably governor Abilio Soares, who fear the loss of their privileges.
Militia Gangs in East Timor Mahidi (Mati Hidup Demi Integrasi -Life and Death for
Integration), a 1,300 member militia, is based in Ainaro (a city directly south of Dili)
and is led by Cancio Lopes de Carvalho, 30. (Mahidi happens to be the name of Mahidin
Simbolon - Deputy Commander of the command centre for operations in East Timor.) Cancio is
the younger brother of the Secretary General of a pro-independence group GRPRTT (The
Timorese Movement for Reconciliation and Peace) and the son of the liurai (chief) of
Cassa-Ainaro. His group's arsenal includes three M-16s and 16 World War II-vintage G-3
rifles left when the Portuguese fled East Timor. "We are ready for war," he
says. Cancio worked as a public servant in the Justice Department and after the Santa Cruz
massacre in 1991, he formed a group of intelligence agents who worked with TNI (then named
ABRI) in intimidating and arresting pro-independence youth of Ainaro and Covalima
districts. After Soeharto's fall, Cancio attempted to strengthen his group by forcibly
recruiting men from the Ainaro district and giving them military training. On December 17,
1998, with support from TNI, he established the Mahidi militia which became an official
organization on January 1, 1999, through an inaugural function attended by the Kodim
(District military) commander of Ainaro, the police chief of Ainaro, and some of the
leaders of the Ainaro district-level legislature. Mahidi with the support of TNI's RATIH
militia, began entering hamlets to force people to become members. Feeling threatened,
many people registered themselves as members, while many others fled to avoid the
pressure.
Besi Merah Putih or BMP (Red and White Iron) was established on December 27, 1998. It
operates in Maubara and around Loes River west of Dili, under the leadership of Manuel de
Sousa with the support of the district chief of Liquiça, Leoneto Martins (an honorary
member of Kopassus from the time of Prabowo's involvement in East Timor). De Sousa was a
member of the PDI-faction in Liquiça from 1992 to 1997. In the first few months after its
establishment, the gang recruited its members from ordinary peasants, old people and boys
younger than 18. According to some sources, the process of recruitment was done through
terror, intimidation, and death threats. Those who finally agreed to join the gang were
promised a wage of Rp. 25,000 per day. (A Dili labourer earns Rp 5000 per day)
Aitarak (thorn), a militia based in Ainaro is commanded by Eurico Guterres, who is now
vice commander of all paramilitary groups. After the possibility of independence for East
Timor was announced, Eurico and his supporters established Aitarak. In 1988, Guterres was
detained by the Indonesian military because he was suspected of being involved in a plot
to murder President Soeharto when he visited Dili. After he was released, he became a
member of Gada Paksi. Guterres is also known as the leader of a gambling racket at an
inter-city bus terminal and several other places.
Gada Paksi is a group established in the early 90s by the governor Abilio Soares with
the support of Kopassus under Prabowo. The Gada Paksi formed the basis of the notorious
ninja gangs that tortured and murdered suspected activists in Dili in the mid 90s - always
wearing their trademark black hoods. They are now based in the Puke Laran village in the
district of Liquiça.
Halilintar (lightening or thunderbolt) is based in Atabae in the Bobonaro district
which borders West Timor. This organization was initially formed in 1975 by a liurai from
Atabae named Mayor Tabesi, but is now led by Joao da Silva Tavares. Tavares has been
fighting on the side of the Indonesians since before the invasion. In October 1975, he
joined in attacks launched from Indonesian territory against Fretilin. For this he was
rewarded by being appointed Bupati of the Bobonaro district for two terms. While Bupati he
took over many landholdings vacated by East Timorese who fled to Australia and Portugal
and is now an important landowner. He is also leader of the district's MUSPIDA
(Authorities' Council containing both military and 'civil' government representatives),
and with the support of TNI officials, has been appointed the War Commander of the
Pro-Autonomy Forces.
Makikit – operates around Viqueque
Tim Saka has its headquarters in the village Lai-Sorulai, sub-district Quelicai,
district Baucau. This group was formed during TNI/ABRI's Operasi Kikis (Operation Erosion)
in 1983. During this operation, TNI used East Timorese people as frontline shields as it
hunted down Falintil. Saka was involved in many killings during the operation. After the
first was shot dead in 1994 the leadership was taken over by the vice-commander Sgt.
Joanico da Costa. It now has weapons such as AK-47s, M-16s, and hand grenades obtained
from TNI.
Pana - has its base in Fatuboro village, Maubara sub-district, Liquiça district and is
led by Domingos Policarpo. When conducting raids and attacks, Pana receives support from
the members of Territorial Battalion 143.
Jati Merah Putih – (Real Red and White) based in the Los Palos region.
Laksaur Merah Putih - based in Salele, Covalima district
Darah Merah (Red Blood) – operates in the middle region of East Timor – its
commander-in-chief is Lafaek Saburai.
Dadurus (Maliana) AHI - Aku Hidup untuk Integrasi – (I Live for Integration) or
‘fire' in Tetun is based in Aileu. Ablai is based in Same.
Tim Sera – led by Sera Malik and Tim Alfa operate in the eastern region of East
Timor.
Naga Merah – Red Dragon
Ermera Sakunar – led by Simao Lopes Tatarah and Loromea operate in the southern
region.
Rajawali (eagle) was formed as a spin off of Gada Paksi in the early 90s and was trained
by Prabowo's Kopassus troops.
Darah Integrasi (Blood of Integration) – based in Gleno in Ermera Tim 59
Also there are militarised civilian forces that are on temporary contracts with TNI,
with inferior pay and equipment. These are what in some countries are called
"auxiliary forces". Groups include the self-defence forces called Wanra or RATIH
and Keamanan Rakyat (People's Security) or Kamra. Official members of Wanra and Kamra are
easy to distinguish from the other militia groups as they wear uniforms, carry themselves
with a degree of military discipline and do not routinely carry M16s
Pro-integration groups Forum Persatuan Demokrasi dan Keadilan (FPDK or Forum for Unity,
Democracy and Justice) was established in late February 1999. It is headed by a Bupati of
Dili Domingos Soares and controls the activities of the militias. Forum members are made
up of local officials both Timorese and Indonesian. One of the spokespeople is Basilio
Dias Araujo, who studied in the United Kingdom, speaks good English and is the deputy head
of the provincial investment board (BKPMD), the body which makes the decision on who is
allowed to invest in what field and where in East Timor.
The East Timor United People's Front (FUPTO), a pro-integration umbrella group founded
April 30 1999 by Jakarta's roving ambassador for East Timor affairs, Francisco Lopes da
Cruz
Getting Away with Murder Part 2
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