FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Suzana Grego,
Director of Communications
International
Center for Transitional Justice
Tel: 917.438.9331
| E-mail: sgrego@ictj.org
Indonesia
and Timor-Leste: New Commission's Defects Must be Remedied to Achieve
Justice and Truth for Victims
NEW YORK, March
9, 2005-The parliaments of Indonesia and Timor-Leste must make significant
amendments to the terms of the newly established Commission for
Truth and Friendship (CTF) if it is to achieve justice and truth
for victims, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
stated today.
The terms of
reference for the CTF were agreed to today in Jakarta by the President
of Indonesia and the President and Prime Minister of Timor-Leste,
and referred to the countries' parliaments for ratification. The
terms preclude the Commission from recommending the prosecution
of perpetrators or reparations for victims, and allow it to offer
amnesties to individuals responsible for committing serious abuses.
The CTF was
established to investigate the violence surrounding the 1999 UN-supervised
referendum on independence in Timor-Leste, during which more than
1,400 people were killed by pro-Indonesian militias supported by
the Indonesian army. The militias also shot, stabbed, beat and raped
thousands of other victims, forcibly displaced 250,000 people and
destroyed much of Timor-Leste's infrastructure, including more than
60,000 houses.
Two independent
inquiries launched in 1999 concluded that the Indonesian army and
its militias were implicated in grave violations of human rights
and international humanitarian law, and recommended prosecuting
those responsible. Despite these findings, all but one of the accused
subsequently brought before the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta
were acquitted. A Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (SCIU) established
by the UN in Timor-Leste convicted 74 Timorese perpetrators, but
was unable to extradite more than 300 indictees living in Indonesia.
The ICTJ urges
the Indonesian and Timorese parliaments to amend the CTF's terms
of reference immediately, in order to:
- Empower the
Commission to recommend the prosecution of individuals suspected
of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and to recommend
reparations for victims.
- Exclude the
possibility of granting amnesties to individuals responsible for
committing serious abuses.
- Guarantee
the independence of the Commission, avoiding any advisory role
by the Indonesian and Timorese governments.
- Ensure access
to the archives of the Indonesian army and other relevant
sources in Indonesia.
- Ensure the
integrity of archives held by the SCIU and the Commission for
Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) in Timor-Leste, and
protect the
confidentiality of witnesses identified in the archival materials.
Further, the
ICTJ strongly recommends that the CTF be installed and its members
selected in an open and transparent process, through close consultation
with civil society groups, particularly Timorese victims.
Moreover, the
governments must not allow the CTF to overshadow the investigation
of a UN panel of experts set up to examine efforts to achieve justice
for victims of the 1999 violence, nor can it let the Commission
marginalize the CAVR, due to present its final report in July 2005.
"The Commission
for Truth and Friendship must address past failures to achieve justice
and respond to the needs of victims, and not be trumped by the bilateral
diplomatic interests of the Indonesian and Timorese
governments," said ICTJ President Juan E. Mendez.
The ICTJ in Indonesia
and Timor-Leste
The ICTJ has
been working in Indonesia and Timor-Leste since the organization's
inception, consulting with the UN, governments, civil society groups,
and academics on a variety of transitional justice initiatives.
Released in
August 2003, "Intended to Fail," the ICTJ's analysis of
the trials before the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta, suggests
that Indonesia never intended to fulï¬ll its promise
of holding perpetrators accountable for the violence surrounding
the East Timorese vote for independence in 1999. Senior Associate
Eduardo Gonzalez continued to work with local and international
NGOs to request that the UN develop an
appropriate response to this failure.
The ICTJ has
also monitored parliamentary efforts to establish a truth commission
and coordinated with local partners to ensure that the proposed
body respects victims' rights and promotes accountability. In January
2004, the Center disseminated a study of the Indonesian law establishing
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and in February,
co-sponsored a conference in Jakarta for civil society leaders and
activists to develop a strategy to respond to the TRC law.
The ICTJ has
actively supported efforts in Timor-Leste to address the human rights
violations and impunity left by 24 years of Indonesian occupation
by assisting the work of the CAVR and the SCIU. To help inform
the debate about accountability, the Center produced a report in
August 2003, "Crying Without Tears: In Pursuit of Justice and
Reconciliation in Timor-Leste," which examines the perspectives
of a cross-section of
Timorese citizens on issues of violence, truth, justice, and reconciliation.
The Center urged
the UN Secretary-General to convene an international Commission
of Experts to examine the situation of impunity for the crimes committed
in 1999 and to devise workable, efficient, and fair strategies to
ensure accountability.
In January 2004,
the Center released "The Struggle for Truth and Justice,"
a report that maps nearly 200 transitional justice initiatives undertaken
by Indonesian civil society organizations. The Center publishes
a monthly newsletter in Bahasa Indonesia to disseminate transitional
justice information throughout the region.
About the ICTJ
The ICTJ assists
countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human
rights abuse. The Center works in societies emerging from repressive
rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies
where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.
It provides comparative information, legal and policy analysis,
documentation, and strategic research to justice and truth-seeking
institutions, nongovernmental organizations, governments, and others.
The ICTJ assists
in the development of strategies for transitional justice comprising
five key elements: prosecuting perpetrators, documenting violations
through nonjudicial means such as truth commissions, reforming abusive
institutions, providing reparations to victims, and advancing reconciliation.
The Center is committed to building local capacity and generally
strengthening the emerging field of transitional justice, and
works closely with organizations and experts around the world to
do so.
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