Open Letter to United Nations Security Council
As Security Council Readies Visit to Timor-Leste, Rights Groups
Call For Justice and Accountability
Contact:
- John M. Miller (ETAN), New York +1/917-690-4391;
etan@igc.org
- Yasinta Lujina (Lao Hamutuk), Dili +670/723-4339;
info@laohamutuk.org
- Rafendi Djamin, Coordinator, (Human Rights Working Group),
Jakarta, +62/81311442159;
hrwg@cbn.net.id
- Dr Clinton Fernandes, (Australian Coalition for Transitional
Justice in East Timor), Canberra , +61/2 6268 8847;
c.fernandes@adfa.edu.au
- Paul Barber (TAPOL), Britain, +44/1420 80153; +44/774 730 1739;
plovers@gn.apc.org
An open letter from a worldwide coalition of
human rights organizations has called on the UN Security Council
to act for substantive justice for the East Timorese people, as a
council delegation travels to Timor-Leste. The East Timorese
suffered countless war crimes and crimes against humanity during the
Indonesian military's illegal occupation. The letter rejects the
Indonesian government's attempts to escape accountability.
The letter is signed by representatives of more than 60
organizations from 15 countries, who call on the Security Council
"to act forcefully for justice for the people of Timor-Leste," by
implementing the relevant recommendations of East Timor's
Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR).
The letter applauds the
UN Secretary-General's decision not to give
legitimacy to the bilateral Commission for Truth and Friendship
(CTF), unless its terms of reference are substantially changed. The
CTF and Indonesia's Ad Hoc Human Rights Court "have proven
manifestly unsuitable in both design and implementation to the task
of delivering justice in accordance with international law," the
letter states. Instead, the council should create an international
criminal tribunal or fully reconstitute the Serious Crimes process
with sufficient resources and international backing to investigate
crimes committed during the 24-year occupation, not just in 1999. A
total of 290 individuals already indicted under the Serious Crimes
process remain at large in Indonesia, outside the jurisdiction of
courts in Timor-Leste.
The letter says that the recent inquest into the killing of
journalists in Balibo, East Timor, in 1975 is the only recent formal
investigation into the many crimes committed in East Timor before
1999.
The letter notes that there is widespread support for substantive
justice within Timor-Leste, especially by the Church and civil
society and insists that the international community, as embodied in
the United Nations, must be involved in addressing crimes which
violated international criminal law, the UN charter, and Security
Council resolutions.
The letter is timed to coincide with the official visit of the UN
Security Council's mission to take place the last week in November
2007.
"An international norm has crystallized against impunity", said Dr
Clinton Fernandes of the Australian Coalition for Transitional
Justice in East Timor, a signer. "The UN Security Council must
reinforce this norm by ensuring that those bearing responsibility
for war crimes and crimes against humanity are brought to justice."
Signers include human rights groups from Indonesia, Timor-Leste,
elsewhere in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, United States, and
Europe. The full text of the letter in English and Bahasa Indonesia
with a complete list of signers can be found at
http://www.etan.org/news/2007/11unscltr.htm.
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see also:
AKI:
Rights groups urge UN to deliver justice to population
TAKE ACTION FOR
JUSTICE
Urge UN
Secretary-General to Act for
Justice for East Timor
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