The Jakarta Post, 17 February 2006.

East Timor to brief Indonesia on its stance on atrocities report

DENPASAR (AP): The leaders of Indonesia and East Timor planned to meet Friday to discuss a report that details atrocities committed by Indonesia during its long occupation of the tiny nation.

The report, presented to the United Nations last month, triggered anger in Indonesia.

East Timor, which is eager to maintain good ties with its giant neighbor, has also sought to distance itself from its contents.

East Timor President Xanana Gusmao was scheduled to brief Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the report at the meeting on the resort island of Bali, said Dino Patti Djalal, a spokesman for the Indonesian president.

The report says at least 102,000 East Timorese were killed, disappeared, starved or died of illnesses under Indonesia's 1975-99 occupation after the territory was abandoned by its former colonial master Portugal. It
also describes sexual violence, the use of napalm and torture by Indonesian forces. Indonesia denied the use of napalm as it did not have access to the incendiary bomb.

The 2,500-page document was prepared by the East Timor's truth and reconciliation commission, a body set up with the assistance of the United Nations.

East Timor has repeatedly shunned calls for an international court to be established to try Indonesian military officers.

Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and ruled the abandoned former Portuguese colony with an iron fist until 1999, when a UN-organized plebiscite resulted in an overwhelming vote for independence.

An outbreak of violence by retreating Indonesian troops and pro-Jakarta militia left more than 1,500 dead.

No Indonesian official has been punished for crimes committed during the occupation. (***)

END