East Timor News Digest 22 - August 25-September 8, 2003

Vannessa Hearman, Melbourne -- Zito da Costa, president of the East Timor Confederation of Trade Unions (Konfederasaun Sindikatu Timor Leste -- KSTL), one of several trade union groupings in East Timor, addressed a small gathering at Trades Hall on August 21. Da Costa was attending the Australian Council of Trade Unions congress.

Da Costa said that KSTL's main aim was to "improve the living conditions" of the people. "Those staffing the union are all volunteers", da Costa explained, "because workers still have to be convinced that trade unions are their organisations, which they should sustain and own".

The KSTL is composed of seven trade unions, which represent musicians, nurses, doctors, construction workers, horticulturalists and, since February, transport and shipping workers. With the assistance of the Maritime Union of Australia, the shipping and transport union is slowly beginning to organise.

Da Costa said that the East Timorese constitution protected workers' rights "100%", but the implementation of its provisions has been severely lacking. He complained of the lack of a minimum wages board and an arbitration board.

Prices for basic commodities, such as rice, sugar, fuel and cooking oil -- which were subsidised under Indonesian rule -- now vary wildly from market to market. Da Costa argued that the East Timor government needed to "set the prices in internal markets".

Da Costa criticised the so-called poverty reduction strategies of United Nations agencies and the international financial institutions, which are supported by the Dili government. "At a recent UN Development Program seminar in Dili, it was argued that we need to reduce poverty, but agricultural minister Estanislau da Silva said that having a minimum wage would deter foreign investors", da Costa reported. KSTL is involved in a committee to examine the impact of international financial institutions in East Timor.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported to donor countries in December that it had advised the Timorese government against setting minimum wages, price controls and subsidies.

According to da Costa, the installation of prepaid electricity meters, which were recommended by the IMF, began in early August. The move was met with popular protests.

The meters will worsen social inequality, da Costa noted. "One house would enjoy electricity because they can afford it, while the house next door will be in darkness." The Timorese government has awarded a three-year management contract to run East Timor's power supply to the Macau Electricity Corporation.

West Timor/refugees

Five options for Timorese in West Timor

Antara - September 2, 2003

Kupang -- The Indonesian government has reiterated the five options offered to former residents of East Timor who have continued to stay in Indonesia's West Timor area despite East Timor's declaration as the Republic of Timor Leste.

The five options apply to those who have neither decided to return home to the Republic of Timor Leste nor joined the Indonesian government's resettlement program at their own free will.

According to Djidon de Haan, Head of East Nusatenggara's Manpower and Transmigration Office, the five options, if consistently followed, are expected to comprehensively solve the entailing problem of East Timor's separation from the Republic of Indonesia.

The five options are returning to what is now the Republic of Timor Leste voluntarily, residing in Indonesia, joining a resettlement program outside the West Timor area, resettling in West Timor area and adopting those who serve as members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police Forces.

Speaking to the press here Tuesday, Djidon de Haan said that the East Nusatenggara Provincial Administration had tried to recollect data about East Timorese people living in refugee camps in West Nusatenggara area.

The East Timor refugee census will be carried out in the Regency of Kupang, Regency of Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS) and Regency of Timor Tengah Utara (TTU) up to September 15 this year.

The census for those staying in the Regency of Belu, where most of East Timor refugees stay, will last until September 18.

The refugee census will be jointly conducted by the Indonesian government, the International Organization of Migrants and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Djidon de Haan said.

According to Djidon de Haan, the UNHCR and the IOM will help facilitate those interested in returning to Timor Leste voluntarily.

"We just hope that the refugee census will be completed by September 18", Djidon de Haan said.

Necessary analysis will be conducted on the East Timorese refugees, Djidon de Haan said, adding that the results of such a checking will be used as a strong basis for the following steps taken to solve the East Timor problem once and for all.

TNI members still living in ex-refugee camps

Antara - August 26, 2003

Kupang -- About 700 members and civil servants who worked for the Indonesian Defence Forces (TNI) when East Timor was an Indoneisn province are still staying in ex-refugee camps here, a top military officer said Tuesday.

Of the number, 600 families had settled in houses the TNI had provided for military personnel, Udayana regional military chief Maj.Gen. Agus Soeyitno said.

Accompanied by Wirasakti district military commander Colonel Moeswarno Moesanip during his visit here, he said his party promised to work hard to provide the remaining with housing facilities.

The total number of TNI members of former East Timor who still live in East Nusa Tenggara province reaches 936, while 364 others are civil serants working for the TNI , he said.

East Timor was a province of Indonesia from July 1976 to October 1999. As the result of the anti-integration camp's victory in the UN-sponsored plebiscite in August 1999, the province seceded from the republic in October 1999.

Timor Gap

East Timor's blood, Australia's oil?

Redpepper - August 25, 2003

Jeffrey Smith and David Webster -- Four years ago this month, East Timor voted for independence following a quarter-century of brutal foreign occupation. Invaded and occupied by Indonesia in 1975, it finally took its place as the first independent state of the new century. Whether that independence will be secure depends on an economic question: who will control the offshore oil of the Timor Sea?

Today, East Timor is the poorest state in Asia. It could be one of the wealthiest. The reason is oil: billions of barrels in untapped reserves in the Timor Sea. But the ownership of that oil is in dispute. The international community once again holds the key to East Timor's fate.

One of the main countries that sold out East Timor in the past is Australia. Today it is doing much the same thing in a battle over ownership of East Timor's offshore oil. Petroleum revenues, says East Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, "will finance our future and allow us to wean ourselves gradually from the generosity of international donors."

The country's budget now relies heavily on foreign aid. Oil offers a way out: offshore reserves in the Timor Sea are worth as much as $30-billion (US) over the next 30 years. East Timor need not continue to be the poorest country in Asia, a ward of donor states; it can be self-sufficient based on wise use of oil revenues.

But the power to decide lies not in East Timor, but in Australia. And Australia is playing hardball with its smaller neighbour. "We are very tough," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Alkatiri. "We will not care if you give information to the media. Let me give you a tutorial in politics -- not a chance."

Maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea are still not fixed. Australia has historically claimed the bulk of the waters under the outdated continental shelf principle, and demarcated its boundaries with Indonesia under this principle in 1972. That treaty left the boundary between East Timor and Australia undefined, creating an oil-rich zone of uncertain control called the Timor Gap.

After Indonesia invaded East Timor, it began negotiations with Australia to close that gap. With the Law of the Sea convention now favouring a median line in the determination of maritime boundaries, the two countries agreed on a complex revenue-sharing agreement for the disputed waters. Australia also agreed to recognize East Timor as part of Indonesia as the price for beginning oil exploration. But the treaty was reached with no input from the Timorese people.

"Now that major petroleum projects in the Timor Sea are poised to begin, the issue of [East Timor's] permanent maritime boundaries is more important than ever before," according to Alkatiri. But while the Timorese parliament has declared borders in keeping with Law of the Sea principles, Australia has refused arbitration and even withdrawn from World Court jurisdiction. In effect, there is a gap in East Timor's independence: Australia continues to occupy part of its territory.

Given the history of Australian-Timorese relations, that is ironic. Many Australians recall how in their country's hour of need, East Timor was there. In the Second World War, Australian forces used East Timor as a shield against the Japanese advance. As many as 80,000 Timorese died fighting alongside Australian soldiers in a war that was not theirs. "The government never really acknowledged our debt to the Timorese from the war," in the words of Paddy Kenneally, one of the Australian soldiers who fought in East Timor.

Given this history, and Australia's complicity with the Indonesian occupation that cost another 200,000 Timorese lives, Australia should be generous. It can do so with long-term aid at the expense of the taxpayers of Australia and the international community in general, or it can do so by giving East Timor a better break on the oil reserves. There is no reason why foreign oil companies cannot work with the government of East Timor as easily as they can with the government of Australia. The course of justice and the course of enlightened self-interest both argue for a more generous policy by Canberra.

East Timor was abandoned for years by the world. Will it be abandoned again in the name of greed?

[Jeffrey Smith is a maritime lawyer who has advised the East Timorese government. David Webster is co-editor of a forthcoming book on East Timor.]

Justice & reconciliation

Justice for East Timor victims? Not in Indonesia

South China Morning Post - September 2, 2003

Aderito Soares -- A car bomb exploded at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on August 5, killing 12 people. That same day, across town, a man responsible for many more deaths received a slap on the wrist as Indonesia's ad hoc human rights court ended its judicial charade. Major-General Adam Damiri received three years in jail for his involvement in the 1999 devastation in East Timor. He remains free pending his appeal, and is unlikely to spend a day in a cell.

The Jakarta court, which acquitted 12 of the 18 East Timor suspects brought to trial, is clearly a sham, despite its verdict on Damiri. The trials have been flawed, unfair and unprofessional. The situation is worsened by the powerlessness of the Special Panel Court established by the UN in East Timor, to bring the "big fish" in Jakarta to trial.

Now there is no alternative, if justice is to be upheld, to establishing an international tribunal into the atrocities that took place in East Timor. This would serve the interests of both East Timor and Indonesia.

The enforcement of justice would help East Timorese victims build a future for their new state and uphold their dignity as a nation. As for Indonesia, holding criminals accountable would deter others, helping to prevent similar atrocities in Aceh, West Papua and elsewhere in the archipelago. It could also spark reform in the Indonesian judiciary and help propel the country towards real democracy.

Since the UN-sponsored referendum on independence in August 1999, East Timorese leaders have worked hard to strengthen ties with Indonesia at the cost of justice. Two years ago, Timorese President Xanana Gusmao gave a warm hug to the notorious Army Special Forces Lieutenant-General Prabowo Subianto, son-in-law of former president Suharto. Human rights advocates were deeply disappointed by Mr Xanana's warmth towards the general, who has been accused of serious human rights violations in both Indonesia and East Timor.

The East Timorese government has acted pragmatically in establishing its relationship with the Indonesian government, for several reasons. The tiny country still faces the possibility of retaliation by Jakarta, as well as subversive activities by rogue military elements and militias. Also, East Timor has strong economic ties to Indonesia.

East Timor's president and foreign minister have consistently advocated this pragmatic position, especially when it comes to prosecuting Indonesian officials over human rights violations in East Timor.

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's stance was different in the beginning, when he described the human rights court in Jakarta as seriously flawed and called for an international tribunal. Unfortunately, on his recent visit to Jakarta, the prime minister softened his position by declaring that his government would not push for an international tribunal. To avoid offending Indonesia, Timorese leaders now say the international community bears the chief responsibility to advocate and establish an international tribunal. Examples of gross human rights violations that fall under the categories of crimes against humanity and war crimes, during Indonesia's occupation, are legion. Indeed, the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry specifically called for an international tribunal to try those who committed such crimes in East Timor during the post-referendum massacre. However, despite the fact that nine East Timorese UN employees were murdered after the 1999 ballot, the UN put the recommendation on hold while it gave the Indonesian government a chance to try the alleged perpetrators through its own judicial system.

Last week, the security council called for an end to impunity for those who attack UN and humanitarian missions. Responding to the bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, the council expressed its "determination to take appropriate steps in order to ensure the safety and security" of its personnel. If the security council is serious, it should begin by establishing an international court to prosecute the many crimes against humanity committed in East Timor.

[Aderito Soares is a human rights lawyer from East Timor.]

Cultural Fest at border to serve as security barometer

Antara - September 1, 2003

Atambua -- A cultural festival to be held in Timor Tengah Utara district in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province on September 22, would serve as the barometer for security in the border between Indonesia and East Timor, a local official has said.

"Our people are preparing for the festival and they will show the world that security in (Timor Tengah Utara) is conducive," deputy district head, Gabriel Manek, said here Monday.

Gabriel noted that if the festival is held peacefully, the United Nations no longer has any reason not to lift Resolution No 1319, which put East Nusa Tenggara under an "alarming security status" following the killing of two UN aid workers on September 8, 2000. The UN resolution has hampered the development of the district, he said.

The festival will commemorate the 81st anniversary of the town of Kefamenanu and will feature cultural and art performances, he said.

He said the district might invite the East Timorese enclave of Oecusse near the border, to join the festival as its people share the same cultural roots as those of the people of Timor Tengah Utara.

Some ex-militias granted immunity for visits

Lusa - August 26, 2003

Dili -- East Timor's attorney-general's office has granted immunity from detention to about 150 former anti- independence militias and pro-Indonesia integrationists to return home temporarily for reconciliation meetings with officials and relatives.

The deputy attorney-general, Ambndio Benevides, told Lusa Tuesday that the next group covered by the immunity order, about 15 people, were expected from West Timor Wednesday and did not include any persons sought for crimes by Dili.

More than 100 people, including some notorious former militia bosses, have taken advantage of the reconciliation initiative since the immunity program was declared by Attorney-General Longuinhos Monteiro August 20.

Some judicial observers have questioned whether Monteiro has the authority to grant such temporary immunity to former militiamen sought on charges of atrocities committed in 1999 at the time of East Timor's independence plebiscite.

The first group to take advantage of the immunity program arrived in Dili Friday, holding meetings with Timorese officials, including President Xanana Gusmao, a champion of reconciliation.

That group included Egmdio Manek, former deputy commander of the Laksur militia; two former commanders of the Mahidi militia, Vasco da Cruz and Domingos Alves; and Razl Alex, a former member of the Indonesian army.

The attorney-general's August 20 announcement underlined the importance of temporary immunity to facilitating reconciliation and the return of refugees from West Timor.

It warned, however, that returnees who trespassed outside the areas designated for their visit home would be "immediately detained".

Xanana attempts reconciliation talks

ABC News - August 25, 2003

The President of East Timor, Xanana Gusmao, has held the first in a series of reconciliation talks with former militia leaders near his country's border with Indonesian West Timor.

Many ex-militia did not show, but Mr Gusmao took advantage of the border visit to convince refugees to come home.

Four ex-militia leaders accused of crimes against humanity had been given temporary immunity to cross the border for talks, but they and six other anti-independence leaders failed to show. Mr Gusmao pressed on regardless, pleading with more than 100 refugees and ex-militia to return home to East Timor.

Cross-border clashes earlier this year and the impending withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers next June have highlighted the need for reconciliation. There are still about 28,000 East Timorese refugees living across the border in Indonesian West Timor.

Mr Gusmao plans to make several more visits to the border in the next few months.

Getting away with murder

New Zealand Herald - August 30, 2003

Eugene Bingham -- Indonesia's military, from the top brass down to regular soldiers and members of the militia, have gone unpunished for the massacres, assassinations and executions carried out in East Timor in 1999.

Some of those involved in the violence are now running crackdowns in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago. Some indicted for crimes against humanity by the United Nations have never faced trial.

Of those who have been put on trial by the Indonesians, none are actually serving their jail sentences.

The atrocities, part of a planned strategy in response to the independence uprising which culminated in East Timor's vote for freedom four years ago today, have been the subject of a justice process now shown to be a sham.

In 1999, New Zealand was at the forefront of efforts to support Timorese independence, not least by sending our largest post-war contingent of troops to serve as peacekeepers. One of those soldiers, Private Leonard Manning, was killed by a militia group dependent on the Indonesian military.

To many, including Foreign Minister Phil Goff, New Zealand bears some responsibility to ensure that justice is done, and he says New Zealand intends to keep up the pressure for that to happen. The Indonesians have failed to deliver the credible trials they promised.

To another Government MP, Matt Robson, there are dark factors in our past that mean we owe it to the Timorese to ensure those responsible for the bloodshed are held to account.

"New Zealand has had a shameful record in regard to Indonesia and East Timor," says Robson. As Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2002, he read uncensored versions of historic official papers to Government ministers about Indonesia and East Timor.

"The whole strain of advice was, 'Indonesia is so important to us and the West economically and strategically that you just turn a blind eye'. As a Government, we have not taken the [soft] Australian path and that is to our credit. But there is enormous pressure to exculpate Indonesia from what they have done and what they are doing."

After the world learned of the violence committed in East Timor, the UN set up an international commission of inquiry to carry out preliminary investigations. It found a pattern of serious human rights violations and recommended the UN set up an international human rights tribunal similar to the bodies that tried war criminals from the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

But instead, the UN Security Council allowed Indonesia to try its own, through an ad-hoc tribunal on human rights violations. When the trials finished in Jakarta this month, only 18 people had been brought before the tribunal. Just six were found guilty, and the sentences handed down were often less than the minimum.

Major-General Adam Damiri, regional commander of the part of Indonesia that included East Timor in 1999 and the highest- ranking officer to face trial, was jailed for just three years. The minimum sentence was 10. Like the other five convicted, however, Damiri has not yet gone to prison, pending appeal. Several times he did not turn up for court sessions because he was too busy. The Indonesia prosecution even called for Damiri to be found not guilty, failed to produce crucial evidence and called witnesses who gave evidence for the defence.

East Timorese witnesses brave enough to travel to Jakarta were intimidated -- the courtrooms were packed with military who made it clear they were there to support the accused. One woman who went to give evidence about the Suai massacre and the rape of her daughter was denied a translator.

Running in parallel to the Jakarta trials, a separate UN process has been under way in the East Timor capital, Dili. International prosecutors and investigators working for the UN's Serious Crimes Unit have been gathering evidence about crimes against humanity in 1999.

As of this month, it has laid 65 indictments in the Dili District Court alleging crimes by 301 people. More than 25 per cent of the accused were members of the Indonesian security forces, including 32 military commanders.

In February, the Serious Crimes Unit laid its most serious charges in its so-called national indictment, which made allegations going right to the heart of the Indonesian Government. Heading the list of accused was General Wiranto, former Indonesian Minister of Defence and commander of the armed forces. Six high-ranking commanders and the former Governor of East Timor were also indicted.

About 30 convictions have been made so far as a result of the unit's work, but Indonesia refuses to extradite any of its citizens to East Timor to face trial. More than 70 per cent of the accused remain at large in Indonesia. Only one Indonesian soldier has stood trial.

The non co-operation of the Indonesians and the failure of the ad-hoc tribunal are no surprise. Even before the hearings began, legal experts in Jakarta were questioning the process.

New Zealand observers noted one senior member of the Jakarta legal fraternity saying: "Why should Indonesia bother itself with the tribunals now that East Timor is no longer part of Indonesia? And in any case, what happened was partly a result of East Timor leaving Indonesia in the first place."

Senior members of the Indonesian Government did not believe soldiers had done anything wrong. Called to give evidence to the tribunal, Wiranto said the soldiers were only doing their jobs and had not violated human rights.

Wiranto said he had not agreed with President B.J. Habibie's decision to hold a poll. He testified that Indonesia had tried to keep the peace "but people need to understand that, after 23 years of fighting and many deaths, the situation was tense". The security forces were given a "mission impossible".

Wiranto also partially blamed the UN staff in Timor for the outbreak of post-referendum violence, saying they had announced the decision too soon and without addressing concerns about ballot fraud and fairness.

Indonesia specialist and Victoria University part-time lecturer Andrew Renton-Green says Indonesia realises justice must be seen to be done, but the country still feels aggrieved at the way it lost East Timor.

"I get the sense that there is some resentment in some areas about the way that Indonesia was put into a position where it had no choice," says Renton-Green, a former New Zealand Army colonel who also served as a defence attache at the embassy in Indonesia.

"There will be reluctance in a number of quarters to exposing their nationals [over] what was a purely domestic issue in their view. People who acted as they did acted in pursuance of Indonesian Government policy.

"Whether that policy was right or wrong is another issue. The way they look at it is they should be tried under the conditions that existed at the time -- Indonesian law."

The view of the Indonesians is not one that has much sympathy internationally -- at least publicly. The United States noted after the Damiri trial that no one has yet been jailed for the murders of more than 1000 people. The European Union drew up a declaration setting out the failings of the process. New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland co-signed the declaration.

Non-government organisations and activists who fought for Timorese independence have called for an international tribunal to be set up.

The Prime Minister of East Timor, Dr Mari Alkatiri, wants an international commission of inquiry to review the process and the possibility of an international tribunal.

"I would prefer not to comment on the courts of another country but the point is, I never had any hope about the ad-hoc tribunals," Alkatiri told the Weekend Herald. "For me, there is no frustration, because I never had any hope. What we are looking for is some kind of international commission of inquiry to keep the problem alive and to go to the truth."

Like other senior Timorese politicians, Alkatiri is not demanding that Indonesia be held accountable. He believes that responsibility for seeing justice done belongs to the international community.

This is part of the delicate balancing act Timor has found itself having to perform. Its victims of the atrocities want justice, but it has to establish a relationship with its giant neighbour.

"We need to keep developing relations [with Indonesia], but what I have been telling people concerning what happened in 1999 is that responsibility for a solution belongs to the international community," says Alkatiri.

Renton-Green says Timor's position is made difficult by the fact that expectations about the process were raised too high. "The process was regarded by the Timorese as a panacea: this is going to get all the bad bastards, we're going to lock them up and chop their heads off.

"In the event, a few got caught, a few got tried and a few got put in prison.

"Expectations were too high. You can't please everybody all the time but in this particular instance there was a very strong desire on the part of the international community to please everybody. Well, it doesn't work."

Timorese human rights campaigners are pressuring their Government and the international community to do more.

Human rights lawyer Aderito de Jesus Soares says Alkatiri and other Timorese leaders, including President Xanana Gusmao and Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta, are "trapped in a logic of pragmatism" where they do not wish to upset the Indonesians.

He thinks it is disingenuous of politicians to say the people of Timor want to move on with their lives, rather than pursuing justice.

"It is right that people want to move on, but it is based on justice as the fundamental principle. If people demand justice, it does not mean that they cannot move on."

Even if the Timorese Government hardened its approach, Matt Robson is pessimistic about the likelihood of it achieving anything.

"Those who have got the ability will stymie it at every turn. In Indonesia, some of the worst human rights violators we've ever seen are living in comfort. Indonesia is playing the card among the powerful nations: you need our resources, you need us on your side for strategic interests, leave us alone. It's as pure and simple as that."

In 1999, there may have been international moves against Indonesia -- many countries, including New Zealand, withdrew from military contact -- but the stance has not held firm. Australia is now back training with the Indonesian special forces unit Kopassus (involved in some of the East Timor killings) and the British are selling arms to Indonesia again.

"Behind the scenes at every stage of the tragedy that unfolded in East Timor, these people have acted with impunity, knowing that much of what has been said has been for public consumption, and that behind the scenes they've been getting a pat on the head."

Phil Goff says there is no intention of NZ renewing the severed defence links with Indonesia, and the Government will press for a resolution of how to deal with those responsible for the violence of 1999.

He believes the international community retains a responsibility, and understands why Alkatiri would rather leave it to others to find a solution.

"It was the Security Council that agreed to Indonesia carrying out a national process [the ad-hoc tribunal] rather than an international tribunal."

But the deal was that it had to meet internationally credible standards and that standard was not met.

Veteran activist Maire Leadbeater is adamant that the implications are serious.

"You have got a military that blatantly says human rights are less important than territorial integrity. They are waging outright war against innocent civilians. If the international community does not insist on an end to impunity, then Indonesia gets the message that it's business as usual."

Jakarta rights tribunal buries atrocities

Jakarta Post - August 20, 2003

Aboeprijadi Santoso, 'Radio Netherlands', Amsterdam -- A mere three years' imprisonment was the controversial verdict for Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri for his role in the 1999 wave of terror and destruction in East Timor that killed hundreds of people and caused great suffering. Yet there is more to the violence that made him a symbol of impunity.

The declaration by the European Union (EU), issued following the recent conclusion of Indonesia's human rights tribunal on East Timor, is a welcome change. It deplored that justice has not been delivered, that the violence during the 1999 referendum was not accounted for, and that the prosecutors had omitted the evidence submitted by Indonesia's human rights subcommission (KPP-HAM) on the roles of the government apparatuses in funding and training the local militias.

The legal process at the ad hoc tribunal has damaged the credibility of its verdicts. Finally, the EU declaration called upon the Indonesian judicial authorities to work in accordance with international legal standards and the principle of transparency.

The EU declaration sums up the principal objections against the process. However, put in the perspective of those countries that had been better and much earlier informed than anyone else about past atrocities in East Timor, it sounds like a belated "correction".

No European states, which had greatly profited from Indonesia under Soeharto, had publicly protested against past atrocities in East Timor -- even though these were comparable to the tragedies in Milosevic's Bosnia and Saddam's Iraq, where the Europeans had been proactive from the outset. Likewise, they later focused on Myanmar, but not East Timor.

It was not until the St. Cruz massacres in late 1991 that even Portugal woke up. One Dutch minister, J.P. Pronk, was discredited nationwide for his protest regarding East Timor in 1992, only to regain respect six years later when Soeharto fell.

It is important to recall these facts -- as the Indonesian tribunal on the 1999 violence in East Timor comes to a close -- for two reasons.

First, the process has ended with great disappointment among rights activists, as Indonesian officials and politicians have gotten over the "East Timor syndrome", simply by forgetting it. It is as if the East Timor tragedy never happened.

Not only has Jakarta never acknowledged the 1975 aggression, but also, with the exception of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, none of Jakarta's leaders have offered a mea culpa to the East Timorese for its past atrocities.

In contrast, all heads-of-state after Soeharto, even military chiefs, have offered their apologies to the Acehnese for similar atrocities. With the tribunal on East Timor ended, Jakarta has buried the past without resolving the problem of the pre-1999 atrocities and the need for reconciliation between military personnel and their victims.

The violence in 1999 was much less extensive than the aggressions of the past, in particular the great tragedy in Matebian, Central East Timor, during the nine-month siege from 1977-1978 that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. This could be said to be the greatest of atrocities committed by the Indonesian military since the bloody events of 1965-1966 in response to the failed coup.

Had the international community, including Europe, spoken out earlier, the catastrophes could perhaps have been limited.

Second, and ironically, as Jakarta wishes to bury its past in East Timor, the newly established country has just started to investigate human rights abuses by all sides from 1974 to 1999 and has set in motion a process of national reconciliation.

But it seems unlikely that Dili's Serious Crimes Unit and the reconciliation commission would be able to fully complete their task, since no such processes may be expected from Indonesia for those involved in crimes against humanity in East Timor before 1999. The Dili processes need international support to obtain the cooperation of Jakarta authorities and those involved in past abuses.

The EU declaration has thus been useful to remind the world that, five years after Soeharto, Jakarta has not resolved its past in East Timor with justice and fairness. The verdict for Gen. Damiri, the last suspect tried by the tribunal, should therefore not be the end of the story.

Maj. Gen. Damiri, 54, is the highest-ranking general brought to court and the most reluctant defendant to do so -- the trial had been delayed three times because of his absence. As chief of the Bali-based Udayana command, which included East Timor, he had worked in tandem with his deputy, Brig. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon. The two have been identified as the key officers who had close contact with then military chief and minister of defense Gen. Wiranto and the intelligence officers at the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs (Polkam) led by Gen. Feisal Tanjung.

As regional commander, Damiri's position was the very locus where the formal military command appeared to have intersected with the covert operational command, managed from Jakarta by Polkam agents partly disguised as "liaison officers" in East Timor.

It appeared that both the security affairs ministry and Gen. Wiranto had maintained links with militia leaders via Adam Damiri and local officers. Damiri reportedly nurtured contacts with East Timorese thugs such as Lafaek, while Simbolon sponsored a militia group named Mahidi.

Tomas Gonzalves, one of the most dedicated pro-integration figures, referred to these shadowy networks as he spoke about "intense contacts" that forced him to mobilize the militia in his district. The degree of threat and secrecy was obvious, as he was too scared to reveal the fact, even after he had taken refuge in Macau after deserting the militia.

The report Masters of Terror, issued in 2002, so far the most complete profile of key suspects of the Jakarta-sponsored violence in 1999, appears to confirm this impression. Some media have also suggested similar networks based on the conversations between local officers and militia leaders, as intercepted by Australian intelligence.

As the three Polkam "liaison officers" -- Zacky Anwar Makarim, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Glen Kairupan -- had extensive experience with operations in conflict areas, their juniors, Damiri and Simbolon, were later assigned to Aceh and Papua. Gen. Damiri's role thus appeared to be key in the greater picture, marking a regime of impunity that protected army operations in conflict areas.

If Gen. (ret) Wiranto became the next president of Indonesia, he would then be the first suspect of human rights crimes to reach the apex of the republic. The impunity would then come full circle and he, not Gen. Damiri, would be the symbolic personification of impunity.

Indonesia

Indonesia to seek compensation for assets in Timor

Agence France Presse - September 4, 2003

Jakarta -- Indonesia will seek compensation for its nationals who lost property in East Timor when ministers from both countries meet in Dili for two days of talks beginning Friday, an Indonesian official said.

"But having said that I think we are open to any win-win type of solution to this situation, not wishing to prolong it any further than what is required," Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa told reporters.

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda is to leave for the East Timor capital Friday morning to join the second Joint Commission meeting. It will discuss a variety of isues including the border, legal issues, finance, trade, education, culture, transportation and communication.

Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and relinquished control in October 1999 after East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence. Militias armed and organised by the Indonesian military carried out a campaign of terror ahead of the ballot. The militias and security forces then waged a scorched-earth policy that left much of the territory in ruins, at least 1,000 people dead, and more than 200,000 Timorese temporarily displaced as refugees across the border in Indonesian West Timor. After 31 months of UN stewardship, East Timor became independent in May 2002.

Natalegawa said Indonesia wants "proper compensation" for its citizens who lost property in East Timor. There are good prospects of a "win-win" solution for private companies whose assets could be turned into equities in partnership with East Timorese, he said. Conflicting claims from Portuguese, Indonesian and now East Timorese rule make individual assets more complicated, he said. "So we are keen to ensure that talks in Dili will be able to find a solution to this issue," he told reporters.

News & issues

Leaders mull action against militant group

Lusa - September 1, 2003

Dili -- East Timor's leaders met Monday to discuss "urgent" measures to control the activities of a militant nationalist group that has been accused of fomenting instability in the new nation.

The Committee for Popular Defense -- Democratic Republic of East Timor (CPD-RDTL) was formed by breakaway elements of the ruling Fretilin party and has regularly been accused by Dili authorities of organizing "destabilizing activities".

President Xanana Gusmco recently made a fact-finding trip to the east of Timor and he gave Prime Minsiter Mari Alkatii and parliamentary speaker Francisco Guterres an account of this visit at their Monday meeting.

Gusmco's aide, Agio Pereira, said the president had seen evidence of the CPD being "active among the population". "The president will let the government see what measures can be taken on these affairs, which need to be overcome", said Pereira.

Guterres said that Gusmco's report showed that "the CPD continues to be entrenched in its positions and does not seek any development in the process".

Alkatiri said joint "political pressure" from all of Timor's sovereign bodies, as well as "social action" among communities vulnerable to the militant group's activities were needed.

The CPD first emerged onto Timor's political scene in November, 1999 and has been blamed for various acts aimed at destabilizing the nation, including an alleged plot to assassinate the president in 2001.

The group has been a constant thorn in the flesh for the Dili government, both before and after independence in 2002, and was also alleged to have had shady dealings with Indonesian security and intelligence officials.

Local media monitoring

East Timor local media monitoring

UNMISET - August 28-September 4, 2003

Suara Timor Lorosae reported that a human right activist from HAK Foundation, Nug Kadjasunkana, has told STL that the Internal Security Act, which has been approved by the National Parliament, clearly violates the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights not the Geneva Convention as has been suggested by several intellectuals. Mr Kadjasunkana said "if the Government wants to control social communication through this act it will be a clear violation of the Convention on Civil and Political Rights". The article said that Timor-Leste had ratified the Convention on September 10, 2002.

The Vice Minister of Health, Mr Luis Lobato said on Tuesday that his department will rehabilitate more community health centerS, provide midwives to health centers, and also water to health centers with inadequate water supply. The Vice Minister was visiting Lospalos where he held a meeting with local health authorities to assess problems in that district.

The Malasyan Embassy spokesperson, Mr Mohamad Rameez Yahya, told STL last Friday that Timor-Leste's Public Defenders have chose Malaysia to undertake a comparative study. He said that their choice was based on the good relationship between the two countries and also because of the use of the same language. Mr Yahya also said that Malaysia has sent a special police unit consisting of 175 personnel to Timor-Leste under the United Nations flag.

September 1, 2003

Suara Timor Lorosae reported that Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, The Speaker of the National Parliament, Mr Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo, The Head of UNMISET, Mr Kamalesh Sharma, and the Deputy of UNMISET, Mr Sukehiro Hasegawa yesterday met with President Xanana Gusmao at Palace of Ashes to discuss the possibility of the extension of UNMISET mission in Timor-Leste. The UNMISET mission is due to finish in June 2004.

During the 3 hour meeting, no decision was made and it was decided to hold another meeting next Monday.

President Xanana Gusmao gave a speech to the people of Timor- Leste on the occasion of the "Referendum Day" August 30, 2003. President Xanana said that the process towards freedom and democracy is a process where everyone is involved and it is still facing many challenges. President Xanana said that Timor-Leste gained its liberation due to a mutual understanding of the people on how to achieve this goal. President Xanana said that Timor- Leste had gained its independence just one year ago and many challenges lie ahead, therefore we must hold firmly to freedom and democracy by nurturing them. President Xanana appealed to everyone in this country to trust in the independence process.

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and the Speaker of the National Parliament, Mr Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo, yesterday said that if the CPD-RDTL (Conselho Popular de Defesa da Republica Democratica de Timor Leste) registers itself as political party, then the Government will recognize it as a legal organization, if not then the Government considers it illegal. (The CPD-RDTL is a radical organization that wants to preserve the 1975 Constitution as Timor-Leste's Constitution)

The Timor Post reported that the meeting between Head of UNMISET, Mr Kamalesh Sharma, and Timor-Leste's leaders -- including President Xanana Gusmao, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and the Speaker of the National Parliament, Mr Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo -- yesterday was aimed at formulating ideas about the United Nations's role in Timor-Leste after UNMISET. Mr Sharma told reporters that the decision on the role of the UN in Timor-Leste will be decided by UN Security Council. The President's Chief of Staff, Mr Agio Pereira told reporters that President Xanana gave two options for the international community support to Timor- Leste. The first option is that the International community could contribute through bilateral channels and the second option is through the United Nations.

Timor Post also sought opinions regarding the CPD-RDTL (Conselho Popular de Defesa da Republica Democratica de Timor Leste) including Bishop Belo and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. In his opinion Bishop Belo said that the CPD-RDTL should legalize their organization to become political. Bishop Belo said that once they become a party they deserve the right to speak on behalf of the people. Prime Minister Alkatiri said that there are 3 solutions for CPD-RDTL which could be a political solution, social solution and judicial solution. (TVTL has reported that President Xanana Gusmao stated that he will ask the Government to disband the CPD-RDTL. The Timor Post journalist made reference to this in his questions to the Prime Minister).

September 3, 2003

Suara Timor Lorosae reported that Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, is quoted commenting about the Open Governance Program. Monsignor Belo said that it is a positive step, however, the Government should not put people's aspirations in a drawer, but instead it needs to implement change.

The Interior Minister, Mr Rogerio Tiago Lobato, yesterday said that the initial target for the Special Police Unit was 500, but has been reduced to 300. Mr Lobato said that the Government made this decision after taking into consideration the internal situation demands. Mr Lobato said that this reduction was based on internal stability and a decision by the Government to focus its attention to border patrol police. Mr Lobato said that the border patrol police consists of 180 personnel, while Timor- Leste's border line is approximately 245 km.

In response to the Judicial System Monitoring Programme criticism of the Internal Security Act, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said " the people who comment that the Internal Security Act is unconstitutional say this as they don't understand anything". According to the Government, the Internal Security Act is not unconstitutional.

The Timor Post reported that the Cancellor of Dili University, Dr Lucas da Costa, yesterday said that never ending political conflict among leaders could force the United Nations to stay to act as a mediator. Dr Lucas also said that the dichotomy between those in Diaspora and the Resistance could be a reason for the United Nations to stay.

The Speaker of the National Parliament, Mr Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo, yesterday said that Timor-Leste's National Parliament will received its counter parts from Australia today. Mr Lu-Olo said that the Australian Parliament delegation were consisted of 8 members and the aim of the visit is to know the activities of the Timor-Leste's National Parliament within one year of independence.

September 4, 2003

Suara Timor Lorosae reported that President Xanana Gusmao yesterday met with the Australian Parliament delegation at the Palace of Ashes. The delegation members are Dick Adams, Bill Heffernan and Peter Landsay. "During the meeting President Xanana talked about the UNMISET mission that will be finish in June 2004 and also raised the Timor Sea issue" said the President's Chief of Staff, Mr Agio Pereira. Mr Pereira said that during the meeting, the delegation listened to the President, Parliament and Government about their thoughts relating to the UNMISET mission that will end next year.

The Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr Olimpio Branco, yesterday said that after the first ministerial meeting held in Jakarta-Indonesia last year, it is now time for Timor- Leste to host the second Timor-Leste and Indonesia Joint Commission. The Ministerial Meeting will be hold from September 5-6, 2003 at Independence Memorial Hall ? Dili. Mr Branco said that the delegation from the two countries will discuss issues and seek to enhance good relationship between the two countries in the future. "Matters that will be discussed in the meeting are related to border issues, trade and finance issues, law, social, education and culture, and transportation and communication issues" said Mr Branco. Mr Branco said that before a press conference is held by the two delegations, Timor-Leste's Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Jose Ramos Horta, and his counterpart Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Hasan Wirayudha, will sign the agreements.

A delegation of 3 Parliamentarians from Australia, Senator Bill Heffernan, Peter Lindsay and Dick Adams, accompanied by Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Mr Paul Foley, yesterday met with Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. The head of the delegation told reporters that the meeting with the Prime Minister was positive and it was conducted in an amicable environment. Senator Heffernan said that Australia wants to import Timor-Leste's rice and its well -- known coffee, but he added that this matter will be discussed with his Government.

The Timor Post also covered the visit of the delegation of the Australian Parliament to Timor-Leste. There were several stories regarding Australian Parliament's visit, carry much the same information as was in STL.

In the first article, Timor Post quoted Australian Senator Bill Heffernan as saying "Australia has committed to support Timor- Leste after the UNMISET mission over next year". Senator Heffernan said that he can not ensure whether the Australian troops still keep their presence in Timor-Leste after the UNMISET withdrawal. Senator Heffernan said that Timor-Leste needs continued protection from the United Nations.

In the second story Timor Post quoted from Senator Heffernan's statement at Timor-Leste's National Parliament plenary session. Senator Heffernan said "There are no better neighbors than Australia and Timor-Leste. We are neighbors forever and friends forever. As a friend, Australia has contributed to the Peace Keeping Force, UN Police, administrative experts to UN mission and has also provided advisors to the Government".