U.S. Slams Indonesian Court Decision, Seeks Action on Timor Abuse

The United States sharply criticized an Indonesian court decision acquitting four security officials convicted over 1999 atrocities in East Timor and said it was seeking international action to bring to justice those behind the appalling violence.

Jakarta announced last week that the four, including Major General Adam Damiri, the most senior military officer to face trial for the bloodshed during East Timor's UN-backed independence vote, were cleared by an appeal court on July 29.

A 10-year jail term imposed on a pro-Jakarta militiaman who oversaw the murder and torture of independence supporters was also slashed.

No reasons were given for the decisions, which had been condemned by human
rights groups crying for justice for the estimated 1,400 people killed when Indonesian troops and their local militia proxies waged a savage intimidation
campaign.

"We are dismayed by this decision, and we are profoundly disappointed with the performance and record of the Indonesian ad hoc tribunal," Adam Ereli, deputy spokesman of the State Department, told reporters.

All four security officials had been earlier found guilty of crimes against humanity by the ad hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta, which Indonesia created in an attempt to shield itself from calls for an international tribunal.

"In our view, as a result of this appeals decision, only two of the 18 defendants have been convicted, and both individuals are ethnic Timorese and received sentences below the 10-year minimum set by law," he said."We think that the overall process was seriously flawed and lacked credibility."

Asked whether the department had conveyed its views to Jakarta, Ereli said:
"We are consulting with the governments concerned and international organizations on how to ensure a credible level of justice for these abuses."

US-based rights groups have charged that the courts in Indonesia are not independent, calling for a UN inquiry to punish those behind the murderous
rampage across East Timor.

Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, said on
Friday the United Nations should help create a judicial process over the atrocities.

He said support from the United States, Japan, Australia, and European Union
countries for such a UN effort was essential.

In a recent letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Human Rights Watch and
other human rights groups urged the world body to immediately establish a
Commission of Experts "to resolve the impunity gap created by the Indonesian ad hoc Court in Jakarta."

The East Timor Action Network (ETAN), which had been calling for an international tribunal to prosecute crimes against humanity in East Timor since 1975, also sought UN intervention.

ETAN spokesman John Miller urged the US administration and Congress to
strengthen restrictions on assistance to the Indonesian military "until there is
meaningful justice."

East Timor, which won full autonomy in 2002, has downplayed the importance of
the trials, insisting that forging good ties with Indonesia is a greater priority.

Indonesia invaded East Timor in December 1975, shortly after Dili declared
independence from centuries of Portuguese colonial rule.