AP

Tuesday July 5, 5:39 PM

Indonesia rejects U.N. experts' proposal for tribunal over East Timor violence

Indonesia on Tuesday formally rejected a U.N. panel's recommendation that an international tribunal be formed to try its military officers accused of violence in East Timor in 1999.

"In principle, we cannot accept the recommendations of the U.N. commission," Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said after a Cabinet meeting in Jakarta.

East Timor's vote in a U.N.-sponsored referendum to break free from Jakarta's rule in 1999 sparked a bloody rampage by Indonesian troops and Jakarta-backed militia that left up to 2,000 people dead and much of the
tiny territory in ruins.

Amid international outrage, Indonesia promised to punish those responsible, but all 17 police and military officers who stood trial were acquitted.

The U.N. panel of experts was appointed to evaluate Indonesia's attempts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

It submitted a report to the U.N. Security Council last week that described Jakarta's efforts to secure justice as "manifestly inadequate."

The report recommended that the Security Council establish an international criminal tribunal akin to those for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda unless Indonesia takes "substantive action" within six months.