Media Release
News reports
For immediate release
Contact: John M. Miller,
718-596-7668; mobile 917-690-4391
Diane Farsetta, 608-663-5431
People of Faith Call for International Tribunal for East Timor,
Regardless of Indonesian Court Verdicts
More than 90 Religious Leaders and Organizations Representing 15
Faiths Call Indonesian Court "Not Acceptable"
May 26, 2003 - More than ninety religious leaders and
organizations from across the U.S. released a statement
today urging the U.S. government to support the establishment of an
international tribunal for East Timor. The statement follows the last
week's acquittal
by an Indonesian court of former Indonesian military commander
Brigadier General Tono Suratman for crimes against humanity committed in
East Timor in 1999.
The religious figures called the Indonesian ad hoc Human Rights Court
for East Timor a "sham" and said: "The U.S. and other
governments must not pretend the Indonesian judicial process is in any way
acceptable. We call on the U.S. Mission to the UN to actively work with
its Security Council colleagues to pass a resolution establishing an
international tribunal for East Timor. The world's powers must not again
turn a blind eye to East Timor's suffering."
"The Indonesian court's recent acquittal of Brigadier General
Suratman dramatically highlights the failure of the process to meet
international standards of justice," said John M. Miller,
spokesperson for the East Timor Action Network (ETAN).
The Indonesian trials, which began in March 2002, have been widely
criticized. The UN
Special Rapporteur on judicial issues said the Indonesian court has
violated "the principle that prosecutions are to be undertaken in
good faith." The court has thus far acquitted 12 of 16 Indonesian
defendants. The last verdict, in the case of former regional military
commander Major General Adam Damiri, is expected shortly. Damiri, the
highest-ranking military figure indicted by the court, is currently active
in the Indonesian military assault on Aceh.
The U.S. religious community statement noted the strong advocacy for an
international tribunal covering the entire period of Indonesia's illegal
occupation by churches in East Timor. It stressed: "The Indonesian
military committed countless atrocities in East Timor, including torture,
rape, forced sterilization, disappearance and murder. Justice for such
egregious crimes cannot be denied without serious repercussions. Indeed,
peace in East Timor and the rule-of-law in Indonesia have already been
seriously compromised."
"Our call for the U.S. government to serve justice and uphold
human rights by working towards the establishment of an international
tribunal for East Timor exemplifies the vital and proud tradition of
communities of faith in action," said Reverend John Chamberlin,
National Coordinator of East Timor Religious Outreach. "In regard to
East Timor, the crimes are so well documented and the suffering so great
that it would be unconscionable not to take a stand," he added.
Signatories to the statement include Ambassador Raymond Flynn of the
American Catholic Alliance, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the Catholic
Archdiocese of Detroit, Ibrahim Abdul-Mohid Ramey of the Muslim Peace
Fellowship, General Secretary James Winkler of the United Methodist
Church, Rabbi Michael Lerner of TIKKUN, , Bridget Moix of the Friends
Committee on National Legislation, Sister Helen Prejean of the Sisters of
St Joseph of Medaille, Reverend Lucius Walker of the Interreligious
Foundation for Community Organization and Dr. Stanley Hauerwas of the
Divinity School at Duke University. In all, 92 religious community leaders
and organizations representing more than 15 faiths and from 25 states
joined the call for an international tribunal for East Timor. The full
statement and list of signatories are on the internet at
www.etan.org/action/action2/relig.htm.
The General Assembly of the U.S. Presbyterian Church and the General
Conference of the U.S. United Methodist Church previously passed
resolutions calling for an international tribunal for East Timor.
The Indonesian military was responsible for more than 200,000 civilian
deaths during its occupation of the island nation of East Timor from 1975
to 1999. Following the Southeast Asian nation's 1999 vote for
independence, the Indonesian military retaliated by killing more than one
thousand people, raping hundreds of women and girls and destroying most of
the country's infrastructure. In the months following 1999's devastation,
two UN bodies called for the establishment of an international tribunal.
Instead, Indonesia promised to try its own and eventually established the
seriously flawed ad hoc court. The UN Security Council is expected to
revisit the issue for justice for East Timor following the Indonesian
court's final verdict.
The religious community statement was circulated by the East Timor
Action Network, a U.S.-based grassroots organization supporting human
dignity for the people of East Timor by advocating for democracy, economic
justice and human rights, including women's rights. For additional
information, see ETAN's website, www.etan.org.
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A Statement from U.S. Religious Leaders and Organizations: An
International Tribunal Must Be Established for East Timor
see also ETAN's Religious pages
see also ETAN's Justice
and Human Rights pages
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