Political & economic crisis

UN and government push for tougher police measures

World Socialist Web Site - December 20, 2002

John Ward and Peter Symonds -- In the wake of violent protests in the capital of Dili on December 4, the East Timorese government, backed by UN officials, has attempted to deflect attention from the country's mounting social tensions by blaming politically- motivated "provocateurs".

Backed by the UN, Portugal and Australia, it has called for measures to bolster the police in preparation for further unrest. Government ministers and officials have variously accused their political opponents and remnants of pro-Indonesian militia for the violence that resulted in two deaths. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri immediately pointed that finger at the CDP-RDTL, a group calling for the UN to leave East Timor. UN representative Kamalesh Sharma has claimed that the riots may have been "a planned attack against selected targets".

From the available details, however, it is clear that the chief responsibility for provoking the protests rests with the East Timor police, which is trained and commanded by the UN. Moreover, as the situation rapidly escalated out of control, the Fretilin- led government relied on UN troops to suppress the demonstrators, who lashed out and attacked symbols of the privileged ruling elite.

An article in the Australian highlighted the role of the notorious Special Police Unit which, on December 3, went to a secondary school to arrest a 20-year-old student named Daniel, suspected of a gang-related murder. Citing Jose Agustino, deputy director of the Students Solidarity Council, it described what took place: "Officers handcuffed one of Daniel's wrists, threw the chain over a bar and hoisted him, painfully, from the ground. Students and teachers surrounded the police, demanding they stop the brutality".

Agustino told the newspaper: "The police were uncontrolled. We reject that kind of attitude." As Daniel was dragged away, the police kicked one of the teachers and struck other students. A protest march by 200 students and teachers to the parliament building was broken up by UN and East Timorese police who used tear gas and fired warning shots.

The following day, 500 people gathered outside parliament to protest against the behaviour of the police and asked to speak to a government representative. When no one appeared, some threw stones at the building, injuring a parliamentarian. The angry crowd moved to the nearby police headquarters where they confronted police, who, in response some stone throwing, let off warning shots and then fired directly into the unarmed protestors.

Two students-14-year-old Horatio Ximenes and 18-year-old Manuel De Silva-died and 16 others were injured, two critically, as a result of the police shootings. Even though all of the media reports indicate that the police fired straight into the crowd, the East Timor ambassador to the UN Jose Luis Gutteres claimed that police bullets were not responsible for the deaths. He provided no forensic evidence, and none has been subsequently released, to back his assertion.

The Australian cited an intelligence source in East Timor who declared: "Whatever they find about who shot who, there's no doubt that 100 percent of the shootings were by police. They behaved like wild dogs." Following the shootings, the protest erupted into a riot and was joined by unemployed youth. Alkatiri's home was attacked and burned along with a number of foreign-owned businesses, including the "Hello Mister" supermarket that supplies high-priced imported goods to UN staff and others.

The police responded brutally and indiscriminately. At least five people with gunshot wounds insist that police shot them. In each case the witnesses blamed members of the Special Police Unit. Marcel Ximenes, a stallholder at the Comoro market, told the Age newspaper: "They got out of the car and began shooting. I wasn't in the demonstration. My life is just working to get enough to eat."

An eyewitness told the Australian: "I saw two police vehicles chasing a dozen students down the street, running for their lives. Several shots were fired. I looked up and saw one guy, maybe a student, standing rigid on the balcony of the Harvey World Travel building. The police came to a screaming halt, struck him with batons even though he was motionless, pushed him to the ground and kicked and punched him, and threw him in the back of the wagon."

An hour after the clash at police headquarters, Portuguese soldiers were mobilised to defend Portuguese citizens and property, and to join the police in suppressing rioters. Portugal's decision to actively deploy troops to deal with what was a civil disturbance in its former colony appears to have been taken unilaterally without the authorisation of the UN, which commands the international force. It was not until late morning that the Alkatiri government met with the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET), which agreed to provide UN troops to crack down on the protestors.

The activities of the Portuguese and UN troops have received scant reportage. But the police, whom they were assisting, arrested some 77 people in the course of the day. According to a report in the Age, those detained were kicked and punched by police and sustained a number of injuries, including split lips, bruises, black eyes and a suspected fracture.

Political relations

The actions of the government and the UN on the day provide a revealing glimpse into the real state of political relations in "independent" East Timor. While the police in Dili did not receive their orders from UNMISET, they are nevertheless under the direct control of UN Police (UNPOL). There are still more than 700 UN police in East Timor and their role in the events of December 4 is yet to be accounted for.

The UN has been responsible for recruiting and training the Timor-Leste Police Service (TLPS) and has handed over control to the government in only five of the country's 13 districts-Ermera, Aileu, Mantuto, Manufahi and Ainaro. A number of reports indicate that the police, the Special Police Unit in particular, are widely despised. The TLPS is accused of having former Indonesian police, militia members and local thugs in its ranks.

A joint UN-Timorese police inquiry is being carried out into the riots. Six police officers have been suspended pending further investigations -- none of them, however, are from the Special Police Unit. But the main response of the UN has been to announce further training for the TLPS in non-lethal combat and more effective crowd control.

Far from criticising the actions of the Portuguese, the Alkatiri government has praised the former colonial power for its prompt response. The comments underscore the subservience of the administration to the UN and the major powers. Alkatiri, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and others are part of a tiny ruling elite that has maintained close connections to Portugal ever since the Indonesian invasion of the half island in 1975. The government has been widely criticised for making Portuguese, which is spoken by only 10 percent of the population, the official language of the country.

Lisbon obviously saw the protests as an opportunity to steal a march on its rivals, particularly Australia, in consolidating its position in East Timor. Portuguese minister Josi Luis Arnaut boasted: "UN forces took a long time to respond-nearly three hours -- while we, the Portuguese forces, began to respond in about an hour to guarantee the security of our compatriots." Ramos-Horta praised Portugal's actions and called for the slowing down of the planned withdrawal of UN troops.

In the aftermath of the riots, Portugal and Australia have been engaged in something of a competition to bolster the capacity of the police and judiciary to stamp out any further unrest. Australian Prime Minister John Howard rang Alkatiri and promised "assistance to help develop the capacity of the East Timorese police and the East Timorese judiciary".

Portugal has pledged more aid for police training and a team of anti-riot instructors. Neither the UN, Portugal, Australia nor the East Timorese government have announced any measures to deal with the underlying causes of the unrest, which lie in the vast social chasm between a tiny well-off, insulated elite and the vast majority of East Timorese. According to UN estimates, half the population lives below the official poverty line of just 50 US cents a day, and between 70 to 80 percent are unemployed.

Just a week after the protests, 250 donor countries and organisations gathered at a conference organised in Dili by the World Bank to assess six months of East Timorese independence. While UN representative Sharma described the conditions in Dili and Baucau where unemployment stands at 43 percent, no new programs were announced to attempt to alleviate the situation. The conference made only two decisions: to release $US240,000 from the Trust Fund for East Timor to help develop the country's oil and gas fields and a paltry $US700,000 for education. Its major preoccupation was to strengthen the police.

East Timor has no resources of its own to overcome the poverty facing the population. The government had a budget of just $US74.2 million for the year. The UN administration in East Timor had a budget for the 2002/2003 financial year of four times that amount -- $US316 million. More than one third of UN spending -- $US134 million-has been allocated to the cost of UN military personnel.

The figures underscore the fact that economically, as well as politically and militarily, the Alkatiri government is completely dependent on the major powers, acting under the umbrella of the United Nations. Jointly they are presiding over an impoverished half island of 800,000 people, whose living standards are continuing to deteriorate following the declaration of independence. Their unified response to the outbreak of protests -- tougher police measures-highlights their indifference to the plight of ordinary working people.

Government & politics

Gusmao's new year message lists complaints against government

Sydney Morning Herald - December 30, 2002

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- East Timor's President, Xanana Gusmao, has appealed to his people to reject violence in 2003 -- but has also renewed criticism of the Fretilin-led government.

"I ask you to remain calm, because violence does not help us build, it only destroys," he said in a new year message broadcast nationally on Saturday.

East Timor is still reeling from the effects of violence early this month in which two people were killed, more than 20 injured and key buildings burnt as an angry mob rampaged through Dili.

The riots were triggered by anti-government sentiments, but Mr Gusmao did not hesitate to renew his long-standing criticisms of the administration of the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri.

In particular, he focused on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, led by Rogerio Lobato. In a list of suggested "improvements" in government, he warned against a proposal that only members of the governing party be eligible for election as local administrators.

Mr Lobato said this year that only chiefs who belonged to Fretilin should be eligible for office. Local chiefs are at present elected at village level, taking into account the traditional power structure and their contributions to the community.

The President subsequently demanded that Mr Alkatiri sack the minister, on grounds of "incompetence and negligence", a demand that was rejected.

Under the Timorese constitution the president has a figurehead role, with limited power.

Mr Gusmao called for help for farmers to sell their produce. He recently told a meeting of the diplomatic corps that rural poverty was an acute problem and aid donors should restructure their contributions accordingly.

The new year message also touched on the sensitive issue of hundreds of youths who began emigrating from the territory to seek work in Europe even before independence six months ago. The exodus is continuing. Most job seekers are obtaining Portuguese citizenship documents in Lisbon before proceeding to England and Northern Ireland to work in factories.

Mr Gusmao said he was aware many were stranded in Lisbon awaiting documents, and offered help from his staff to overcome bureaucratic difficulties.

The Christmas and new year period has been a relatively sombre one for East Timor, where there is widespread disillusionment with independence, fuelled by the high cost of living and widespread unemployment.

The Prosecutor-General, Longuinhos Monteiro, who headed one of three inquiries into the December 4 violence, has said preliminary conclusions are that outsiders infiltrated "a spontaneous demonstration of young people" and manipulated it for their own ends.

Gusmao calls for legal reforms, urges calm

Associated Press - December 27, 2002

Dili -- President Xanana Gusmao on Friday urged East Timorese to remain calm as the country attempts to solve a slew of problems heading into its first New Year celebrations since gaining independence.

Gusmao said that his fledgling country needed a better legal system to help support the creation of badly needed jobs, rein in corrupt officials and bolster the government's administration.

"Let us all wish that the New Year of 2003 brings us improvements particularly in the area of justice, which still needs a major push ... to become a truly respected institution," he said in a national radio broadcast.

East Timor gained full independence in May, after a period of transitional rule by the United Nations following Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation and four centuries of Portuguese colonial rule.

However, many of East Timor's 800,000 citizens complain they have seen little benefit from independence.

Gusmao called for peace and tolerance among East Timorese following civil unrest earlier this month, the worst to hit the country since its founding.

Mobs angered by rising unemployment and prices rampaged through the provincial capital, Dili, burning buildings and looting hotels. At least two people were killed. Analysts also said that the unrest was caused by anger at government corruption and inefficiency.

Anti-corruption activists demanded a government watchdog to investigate claims that senior officials asked for money and cars to foreign businesspeople investing in East Timor.

"To the people as a whole, I continue to urge for calm, because violence does not help us build but rather destroys all that is being created, or already exists, at great cost and difficulty," Gusmao said.

The government has had difficulties recruiting civil servants because of low wages, he said, adding his office will provide information and advice to youths who have left the country to seek work in Portugal.

Gusmao takes swipe at politicians in Xmas message

Agence France Presse - December 24, 2002

East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao has taken another swipe at the new country's politicians in a Christmas message to his people.

Gusmao, in the message released Tuesday, said hardships in Asia's poorest nation "have made it difficult for us, in all households throughout Timor-Leste [East Timor], to be able to say that we are all smiling, we are all happy because we are entering this [Christmas] period."

"Independence is not easy," the former anti-Indonesia guerrilla commander told the people of the overwhelmingly Catholic nation, which achieved freedom on May 20.

Gusmao asked East Timorese again to "urge the leaders to improve themselves by valuing their responsibilities and the positions they hold so that the people can feel that when Christmas approaches at the end of the year we can all smile."

He chided those who forget that the government's purpose "is to serve the people, to resolve the people's problems and to lessen the people's suffering."

In an apparent reference to deadly riots in the capital on December 4, the president urged "the elderly to teach the children that being independent is difficult, that they must control themselves..."

The violence in which two people died and 25 were injured was the worst since Indonesian troops and their militia proxies withdrew in 1999, destroying much of the country as they left. Some 10 buildings were gutted by fire or severely damaged in other ways.

Last month Gusmao accused politicians of being obsessed with status regardless of their competence and of ignoring the suffering of the people.

Parliament is dominated by the former leading pro-independence party Fretilin. Gusmao is a former commander of Fretilin's armed wing but has become estranged from the party in recent months.

His supporters accused some Fretilin members of waging a dirty tricks campaign during the April presidential election.

Human rights trials

International pressure on East Timor trial badly needed

Jakarta Post - December 30, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta -- The international community needs to bring pressure to bear on the ad hoc human rights trials being held in Indonesia in order to assure that judges and prosecutors are held accountable for questionable verdicts and justice is served, analysts said.

Since the inception of the first human rights trials which were convened in the wake of condemnation from the international community, attention now has been diverted to the global war on terror.

This may explain the only conviction handed down so far by the tribunal of a military officer convicted of atrocities in East Timor, analysts said.

Former East Timor military district chief, Lt. Col. Soedjarwo was sentenced to five-years imprisonment for failing to stop an attack by pro-Jakarta militiamen against the residence of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo in 1999. At least 13 civilians were killed in the attack.

He was the first convicted officer following the court acquittals in August of six military and police officers over similar charges. The trial of two senior military officers is ongoing.

"The international community is of course concerned over the trial's disappointing outcome," said Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) on Saturday.

"But their attention now has shifted to terrorism. Indonesia has taken advantage of this to go lenient in the trial of military and police officers," he said.

Pro-Jakarta militiamen set ablaze the former province's capital of Dili and hundreds were killed in the violence following the 1999 United Nations (UN) sponsored ballot that led to East Timor's break away from Jakarta.

The UN backed down on its threat for an international human rights tribunal when Indonesia promised last year its own ad-hoc Human Rights Tribunal.

However, with the absence of senior officers in the trial and the acquittal of most of the remaining ones, Indonesia has disappointed international and domestic expectations for a just trial.

The poor result drew fire from the US which ceased military ties with Indonesia over the East Timor violence. Still, analysts have said, it is unlikely that Indonesia will face pressure from the US or the international community.

"Security or terrorism has come to the forefront and attention has waned on human rights issues," said foreign political analyst Edy Prasetyono of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

After the Bali Bombing leading to the crackdown on terrorism in the region, Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, was too vital a partner in the US led war against terrorism, he said. "Sanctions, if any, will likely be limited to those related to military cooperation."

Indeed, Indonesian Ambassador to the US, Soemadi D. M. Brotodiningrat, has said diplomatic ties between the country had improved thanks to progress in the Bali bombing investigation.

"International interests lies more in keeping Indonesia stable," Edy continued. Pressure for stern punishment and the trial of senior military officers, he said, could result in political instability.

He admitted that if Indonesia were to follow international practice as it had promised, it would have to prosecute also senior military officers like then Military Chief Gen. Wiranto.

"This happened with Germany, Japan and recently Milosevic," he said referring to the charges of war crimes against Yugoslavia's former president Slobodan Milosevic.

Hendardi and other activists warned the UN might renew its demand for an international court, but Edy said that with the shift in priority, chances of this happening were slim.

Foreign political analyst Dewi Fortuna Anwar however said more importantly than pleasing foreign observers, was that the government show Indonesians it was committed to upholding justice.

"The trial is a positive development by itself but only if Indonesia can show this isn't just window-dressing," she said.

The trial marked the first time military and police officers were prosecuted over human rights abuses. But the long delays preceding it, and state prosecutors presenting what rights activists and the UN said were weak indictments, have dimmed hopes of a just trial. "PBHI's view right from the start was that this trial is nothing but a farce," said Hendardi.

Only three were convicted over the East Timor violence. They include former East Timor governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, and former militia leader Eurico Guterres. Abilio was sentenced to three years, and Eurico to 10 years.

Contrary to common court practice, none of the three were immediately jailed after the conviction, pending their appeals. "That a few individuals with links to the powers that be get this privilege while others don't is starting to become a trend," said University of Indonesia criminal law expert Rudy Satrio.

He said the judges probably feared pressure from the military and might have taken cues from earlier trials involving Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin and House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

Although both were sentenced to prison over graft charges, they were allowed to walk free pending their appeals. A higher court acquitted Sjahril last August.

Defendants of East Timor turmoil:

1. Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, former East Timor governor, failed to prevent his subordinates from committing a number of murders and torture in East Timor in 1999. Sentenced to three years in jail, but free pending a verdict by the higher court.

2. Insp. Gen. Timbul Silaen East Timor Police chief, charges similar to Abilio's. Acquitted.

3. Col. Herman Sedyono, former Covalima regent, failed to prevent the Suai church massacre on Sept. 6, 1999 that left 27 people killed. Acquitted.

4. Lt. Col. Lilik Koesherdiyanto, former chief of Suai city, Covalima military, charges similar to Herman's, Acquitted

5. Lt. Col Sugito, former chief of Suai military, charges similar to Herman's, Acquitted.

6. Lt. Col. Gatot Subiakto, former chief of Suai Police precinct. Charges similar to Herman's. Acquitted

7. Capt. Achmad Syamsuddin, former staff of Suai military. Charges similar to Herman's. Acquitted.

8. Eurico Guterres, militia leader. Convicted of letting his subordinates kill and torture people taking refuge in the house of pro-independence leader Manuel Carascalao. Sentenced to 10 years in jail, but also free as he waits for appellate court be set up.

9. Lt. Col. Endar Priyanto, former chief of Dili military, Charged with failing to prevent the killings in the house of pro-independence leader Carascalao. Acquitted.

10. Lt. Col Asep Kuswani, former chief of Liquica military. Charged with failing to prevent the killing in a Liquica church on April 6, 1999. Acquitted.

11. Lt. Col. Adios Salova, former chief of Liquica Police precinct. Charges similar to Asep's. Acquitted.

12. Leonito Martins, former Liquica regent. Charges similar to Asep's. Acquitted

13. Lt. Col. Soedjarwo, chief of Dili military sub-district, failing to prevent attacks in Dili Diocese and the House of Bishop Belo. Sentenced to 5 years in jail, free pending the appeal.

14. Brig. Gen. M. Noer Muis, former East Timor military chief. Charged with letting subordinates kill and torture people seeking refuge in the residence of Bishop Carlos Belo on Sept. 5 and 6 and in Suai church on Sept. 6. Trial still underway.

15. Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman, former East Timor military. Charged with failing to prevent the Liquica massacre on April 6 and bloody incident in the house of Carascalao on April 17, 1999. Trial still underway.

16. Lt. Col. Yayat Sudrajat, former task force commander at Dili military. Charged with involvement in the Suai church massacre. Verdict not yet issued.

17. Lt. Col. Hulman Gultom, former chief of Dili Police. Same offenses as Yayat et. al. Trial ongoing.

18. Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, former chief of Udayana Military Command. Charged with failing to prevent the murders and torture in East Timor. Trial still underway.

Indonesia court acquits military officer

Associated Press - December 30, 2002

Jakarta -- A court on Monday acquitted a military commander of crimes committed during East Timor's break from Indonesia, the ninth official to be cleared over the 1999 bloodshed.

Lt. Col. Yayat Sudradjat was found innocent of failing to stop his subordinates from joining an attack on a church packed with pro-independence supporters in Liquica. At least 22 people were killed in the April 6, 1999 attack.

"The defendant has been cleared of charges of grave human rights abuses," said Judge Cicut Sutiarso.

Sudrajat, who was a top force commander in East Timor during the violence, is the ninth Indonesian officer to have been acquitted, leading human rights groups to describe the trials as a sham.

Last Friday, the court in Jakarta found Lt. Col. Soejarwo guilty over the violence, but he only received five years imprisonment -- half of what prosecutors had asked. Like many Indonesians, Soejarwo uses a single name.

Two East Timorese civilians -- the province's former governor and a notorious militia leader -- have been found guilty. Despite the seriousness of the crimes, all three guilty men remain free on appeal.

Nearly 2,000 civilians were believed killed and 250,000 forced to flee their homes when Indonesian troops and their militia proxies launched a campaign of terror aimed at forcing people to vote for continued integration with Jakarta.

East Timor gained full independence in May, after a period of transitional rule by the United Nations following Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation.

Military officer gets five years for Timor crimes

Associated Press - December 27, 2002

Jakarta -- A court Friday sentenced a senior military commander to five years imprisonment for human rights violations during East Timor's break from Jakarta in 1999, the first time an Indonesian security official has been convicted over the violence.

Lt. Col. Soejarwo, who headed the military command in the East Timorese capital Dili, was found guilty of failing to prevent pro-Jakarta militias attacking the Dili Diocese and the house of Bishop Ximenes Belo on September 5 and September 6. At least 15 people were killed in the attacks.

"The defendant has been found guilty of committing grave human rights violations," said Judge Andi Samsam Nganro when handing down the sentence.

Soejarwo, who goes by a single name, immediately said he would appeal the verdict -- something that allows him to stay free until the Supreme Court rules on his case.

He is one of 18 officials charged over the violence. Ten of them have been cleared of all charges, prompting local and international human rights groups to describe the trials as a sham. He the is first Indonesian military official to be convicted.

Earlier trials found East Timor's former provincial governor and a notorious militia leader guilty. They were sentenced to three and 10 years respectively. Both are East Timorese natives.

Soejarwo said nothing to reporters when he left the courthouse. Prosecutors had demanded a 10-year sentence. Under Indonesian law, he could have been sentenced to death.

Up until Friday's verdict, observers had predicted that all the military defendants would be acquitted, saying powerful commanders would never allow their men to be jailed. The outcomes of the trials could complicate Washington's drive to renew ties with the Indonesian military, which were cut to protest the East Timor violence.

Cooperation with security forces in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, is considered essential in the campaign against terrorism in Southeast Asia. The Bush administration has demanded full accountability for the bloodshed before it reengages with the military.

Nearly 2,000 civilians were believed killed and 250,000 forced to flee their homes when Indonesian troops and their militia proxies launched a campaign of terror before and after an independence referendum.

East Timor gained full independence in May, after a period of transitional rule by the United Nations following Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation.

East Timor human rights trials: All just a game

Jakarta Post - December 26, 2002

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta -- Indonesia's landmark human rights trials of alleged gross human rights violators in the former province of East Timor will always raise public concern for their failure to break the cycle of impunity.

While the world has placed high hopes that the trials, which started in March, would uphold justice for the victims of the bloodshed in East Timor in 1999, nine military and police officers and a civilian, from a total 18 defendants taken to court, have been acquitted.

The court sentenced two East Timorese civilians, former East Timor governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares and former pro-Jakarta militia leader Eurico Guterres, to three years and 10 years in jail respectively. Both, however, did not immediately serve their sentences despite their conviction of exceptional crimes.

What about the remaining six defendants? Many, particularly human rights activists, have already made their final judgment: Military and police officers implicated in the East Timor mayhem will all walk free.

If there is any, the verdict will be aimed at saving the face of the trials.

The military and police were charged with failing to prevent the bloodshed that swept the former Indonesian province carried out by pro-Jakarta militias prior to and after a UN-administered ballot in August 1999 that saw about 80 percent of East Timorese opting to secede from Indonesia.

The carnage left over 1,000 dead, many buildings burned down and 250,000 East Timorese fleeing to safety in East Nusa Tenggara.

Indonesian military and police had the responsibility, as mandated by the UN, to maintain peace and order before, during and after the self-determination ballot offered by former president B.J. Habibie early in 1999.

With such huge human and material losses, the acquittal verdicts for the military and police reflect the laughable way in which legal processing of the perpetrators and masterminds of the crimes against humanity in East Timor has been carried out.

Human rights activists, as well as ad hoc judges, said that from the beginning of the investigation into this extraordinary crime, there was no political will from the government to uphold justice but more to protect high-ranking military and police officers.

Hendardi, of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), said the government, through the Attorney General's Office, clearly showed its reluctance to ask former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Wiranto to account for the violence by removing him from the list of suspects proposed by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

"The Attorney General's Office limited those being held responsible for the East Timor chaos to the local officers," he said.

The highest-ranking military officer to stand trial for the violence has been Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, former chief of Bali- based Udayana Military Command, which oversaw Bali, Nusa Tenggara and East Timor.

"From that point onward, it was a victory for the military and police. It set a precedent that the ad hoc court is just a mechanism to ease international pressure, not to uphold justice," Hendardi told The Jakarta Post.

Ifdhal Kasim of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) concurred. He said both the government and ad hoc judges ought to be held responsible for the poor performance of the human rights court, established under Law No. 26/2000 on human rights tribunal.

According to him, the government was blameworthy, not only for its reluctance to take high-ranking military and police officers to court, but also for its belated move to endorse the much- awaited victim protection regulations and for providing inadequate training and information to prosecutors and judges.

He said the issuance of the government regulation on witness protection only several days before the start of the trial had made it difficult for prosecutors to convince key witnesses to testify at court. "Key witnesses were vital to help judges reach a verdict. Without them, the trials were useless," Ifdhal said.

Most of the witnesses taken to court testified in favor of the defendants, which, of course, left the judges with inadequate evidence on which to sentence the defendants.

Ifdhal said the government had also failed to provide good training and literature for prosecutors and judges, making them appear unprepared to handle such exceptional crimes.

"Prosecutors were so weak in presenting their indictments that they didn't try to expose the lines of communication or chains of command between the military/police and the militias that carried out violence and murder there," he said. "Bloodshed there was simply perceived as a clash between prointegration and proindependence groups."

Furthermore, he said, the sentence demands for the military and police were minimal, due to a perception that security personnel were those who had to maintain the unity of Indonesia, and therefore deserved exemption from punishment. Nonactive, ad hoc judge Winarno Yudho and judge Binsar Gultom also expressed their dissatisfaction at the trials.

Winarno, a senior lecturer at the University of Indonesia, was recently made nonactive from the ad hoc court due to his discontent at the lack of seriousness shown by parties handling the trial.

"The absence of key witnesses, a failure to perceive the seriousness of crimes against humanity and the failure to use videoconferencing technology to present witness testimonies all prove that the court has not been treated seriously and has operated well below international standards," Winarno said.

"If you observed the trials, many witnesses appeared to have been briefed before they testified before the court. That's why their testimonies matched each other's," he added.

He said, for example, many witnesses, in the same way, testified that there were no attacks on civilians except the clashes between prointegration and proindependence supporters.

Witnesses also claimed that armed civilians, Pam Swakarsa, were formed at the initiative of locals and had no link to the military, although it was common knowledge that the military was behind the establishment of the paramilitary group, as also happened in other provinces, Winarno said.

Videoconferencing was proposed for the trials of Adam Damiri, former chief of East Timor Military Command Brig. Gen. M. Noer Muis and former chief of Dili Military Command Col. Soedjarwo, to hear the testimony of former Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and other witnesses residing in East Timor. No such facility materialized, however.

With local parties showing reluctance to hold the human rights court at all, international pressure has also weakened following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US

All governments in the world looked to strengthen cooperation with their military and police forces to provide support in the war against terrorism, rather than upholding human rights.

In combating terrorism, preemptive actions even violate human rights, such as the use of intelligence reports to arrest people believed to be involved in terrorist activity.

"Terrorism is a larger issue than human rights at present, so you can see that even the UN didn't really pay attention to the development of the human rights court in Indonesia," Hendardi said.

"This situation was cynically taken advantage of by the court here to acquit more and more military and police charged with crimes against humanity," he said.

Grants and other forms of assistance poured into the country, which joined the war against terrorism, and were allocated primarily to equipping the military and police.

However, the holding of human rights trials is one of several conditions cited in the Leahy Law and must be satisfied before the US can restore full military ties with Indonesia.

The US government, which penalized the Indonesian Military for the East Timor carnage by imposing an embargo on weapons sales to Indonesia, has lifted the embargo on the sale of nonlethal equipment to TNI, but still maintains an embargo on other items, including officer training. Winarno concurred with Hendardi.

But Hendardi warned all the defendants on criminal charges in East Timor not to be too complacent, as an international tribunal would be able to try them if the UN expressed its dissatisfaction with the trials.

According to him, the UN would evaluate whether or not the local human rights ad hoc court had functioned in line with international standards, was impartial, and had imposed appropriate punishment on the defendants.

He said there was still a possibility that the UN would announce that the ad hoc courts here had failed to provide justice, although it was a slim chance.

"Let's await the UN's assessment as it is the only hope for upholding justice. Local pressure can't be expected to have a great impact on the court," he said.

According to him, the East Timor trial should pave the way for the court to try the Aceh, Papua, Sampit, Semanggi and Trisakti University cases, the last two of which occurred in Jakarta.

"If the result of the East Timor case, which has been monitored internationally, is poor, we can expect very little from other human rights abuse trials, where international scrutiny may be absent," he said.

Defendants of East Timor mayhem

1. Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, former East Timor governor, failed to prevent his subordinates from committing a number of tortures and murders in East Timor in 1999. Sentenced to three years in jail, but walks free pending the verdict by the higher court.

2. Insp. Gen. Timbul Silaen East Timor Police chief, charges similar to Abilio's. Acquitted.

3. Col. Herman Sedyono, former Covalima regent, failed to prevent the Suai church massacre on September 6, 1999 that left 27 people killed. Acquitted.

4. Lt. Col. Lilik Koesherdiyanto, former chief of Suai military, charges similar to Herman's, Acquitted

5. Lt. Col Sugito, former chief of Suai military, charges similar to Herman's, Acquitted.

6. Lt. Col. Gatot Subiakto, former chief of Suai Police precinct. Charges similar to Herman's. Acquitted

7. Capt. Achmad Syamsuddin, former staff of Suai military. Charges similar to Herman's. Acquitted.

8. Eurico Guterres, former pro-Jakarta militia group leader. Convicted of letting his subordinates kill and torture people in the house of pro-independence leader Manuel Vegas Carascalao. Sentenced to 10 years in jail, but escaped imprisonment as he appealed the verdict.

9. Lt. Col. Endar Priyanto, former chief of Dili military, Charged with failing to prevent the killing in the house of pro- independence leader Manuel Vegas Carascalao. Acquitted.

10. Lt. Col Asep Kuswani, former chief of Liquica military. Charged with failing to prevent the killing in a Liquica church on April 6, 1999. Acquitted.

11. Lt. Col. Adios Salova, former chief of Liquica Police precinct. Charges similar to Asep's. Acquitted.

12. Leonito Martins, former Liquica regent. Charges similar to Asep's. Acquitted

13. Brig. Gen. M. Noer Muis, former East Timor military chief. Charged with letting subordinates kill and torture people seeking refuge in the residence of Bishop Carlos Belo on September 5 and 6 and in Suai church on September 6. Trial still underway.

14. Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman, former East Timor military. Charged with failing to prevent the Liquica massacre on April 6 and bloody incident in the house of Manuel Vegas on April 17. Trial still underway.

15. Lt. Col. Yayat Sudrajat, former task force commander at Dili military. Charged with involvement in the Suai church massacre. Verdict not yet issued.

16. Lt. Col. Soedjarwo, chief of Dili military sub-district, let his subordinates kill and torture people in the House of Bishop Belo, no verdict yet

17. Lt. Col. Hulman Gultom, former chief of Dili Police. Charged with failing to prevent killing in the house of Manuel Vegas. No verdict issued.

18. Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, former chief of Udayana Military Command. Charged with failing to prevent the murders and tortures in East Timor. Trial still underway.