Friday July 8, 10:03 PM

Indonesia, E. Timor voice disappointment over U.N. panel's report

(Kyodo) _ Indonesia and East Timor expressed disappointment Friday over a report by a U.N.-appointed panel of experts that calls for prosecution of mostly Indonesian figures allegedly involved in the violence that wracked
East Timor in 1999 after its people voted for independence.

The stance was made at the conclusion of the third meeting of the East Timor-Indonesia joint ministerial commission during which Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and his East Timorese counterpart Jose
Ramos-Horta issued a joint statement.

"Both parties expressed their disappointment towards the report of the Commission of Experts appointed by the (U.N.) secretary general," the joint statement said.

"Both parties shared the opinion that the secretary general's report of the Commission of Experts to the U.N. Security Council does not promote the process of reconciliation," it added.

In the report, the commission reportedly recommends that the United Nations invoke its charter to set up an international tribunal to try those involved in the East Timor violence if Indonesia refuses to prosecute them
within six months under international supervision.

It reportedly says that prosecutions made so far by an ad hoc human rights tribunal set up by the Indonesian government in response to international pressure to try those responsible for the violence, have been "manifestly
inadequate" with "scant respect for relevant international standards."

In February, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan announced the establishment of the independent Commission of Experts to prove the issue of bringing to justice those responsible for the violence that followed a U.N.-organized
referendum in which the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence.

In response to the referendum, Indonesian soldiers and pro-Jakarta Timorese militias began a campaign of violence and arson, murdering hundreds of people and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

The commission, consisting of three members from Fiji, India and Japan, was tasked to assess the progress made by the judicial processes in Dili and Jakarta and make recommendations to Annan with regard to possible future actions.

Annan established the commission after the Security Council expressed concerns over Indonesia's failure to punish those responsible for the violence.

All 18 military and civilian officers charged with human rights abuses in East Timor have been acquitted.

Meanwhile, East Timor and Indonesia have set up their own commission -- the Commission of Truth and Friendship.

Modeled on South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, it will be tasked with establishing a conclusive truth of events to promote reconciliation and friendship and to ensure that such tragic events will not be repeated.

Unlike the one in South Africa, however, the commission will have no decisive power. The commission can only make recommendations to the parliaments of both sides and cannot prosecute anyone.

The commission, which has a two-year mandate, was established based on an agreement between Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and East Timor President Xanana Gusmao last December. It will have 10 members, with five from Indonesia and five from East Timor.

The two governments have proposed lists of experts, human rights activists, lawyers, politicians, religious leaders and scholars to be members of the commission, which will convene Aug. 10.

"We have been very careful in choosing the best possible individuals to work in the commission, people with independence, with integrity that have the respect of the people in Indonesia and East Timor," Ramos-Horta told a press conference.

He also said the announcement of the names of the concerned individuals will be announced simultaneously in Dili and Jakarta.

The commission will have a secretariat on the Indonesian resort island of Bali with offices in Jakarta and Dili.