E. Timor
indicts 12 for murder in 1999 vote runup
JAKARTA,
Nov 21 (Reuters) - East Timor investigators have charged 12 people
with committing murder just ahead of the territory's vote for independence
at
the end of August 1999, the United Nations Mission of Support in East
Timor
(UNMISET) said.
The 12 "are
all charged with crimes against humanity: murder and
persecution," and include former Indonesian government officials
and soldiers
and pro-Indonesia militia members, UNMISET said in a statement from Dili
on
Thursday.
Indonesia
had ruled East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, for 24 years
before its landslide vote for independence.
UNMISET
said that on August 27, 1999 the 12 attacked the residential compound
of an East Timorese leader, Verissimo Dias Quintas, which housed the office
of a pro-independence group. Both his home and the office were burned
down
and he died in the attack.
Of the 12
charged, one is already serving a sentence in Dili for another
crime during the period, and nine of the others are believed to be living
in
Indonesia. Arrest warrants have been requested from the Dili District
Court,
UNMISET said.
The run-up
to the 1999 vote and especially the weeks immediately after it
were marked by violence the U.N. estimated killed more than 1,000 people,
much of it blamed on machete-wielding pro-Jakarta militia backed by elements
of the Indonesian military.
A U.N. peacekeeping
force stepped in to end the carnage, and the United
Nations administered East Timor until its formal independence last May.
Murder charges as a result of East Timor attacks
22/11/2002 12:06:20 | ABC Radio Australia News
Investigators in East Timor have charged 12 people with committing murder, shortly before the territory's vote for independence from Indonesia in late August-1999.
The United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor says the 12 have been charged with crimes against humanity, murder, and persecution.
They include former Indonesian government officials and soldiers, and pro-Indonesia militia members.
The U-N Mission says on August 27th, 1999, the 12 attacked the residential compound of East Timorese leader Verissimo Dias Quintas, which also housed the office of a pro-independence group.
Both his home and the office were burned down, and Mr Dias Quintas died in the attack.
Of the 12 charged, one is already serving a sentence in Dili for another crime during the period, and nine of the others are believed to bel living in Indonesia.
Arrest warrants have been requested from the Dili District Court.