The Jakarta
Post [online]
November 15, 2002
East Timor government retracts amnesty offer
KUPANG,
East Nusa Tenggara (JP): Armindo Soares Mariano, caretaker of UNTAS
-- an East Timorese refugee organization -- disclosed here on Friday that
East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao would not be granting amnesty to
pro-Indonesia militiamen who fled to East Nusa Tenggara following the
popular
ballot in 1999.
Armindo
said Gusmao, after his election to the presidency, had stressed the
importance of the legal process against crime, including those by
pro-Indonesia militiamen before and after the ballot.
"Gusmao's
plan to give amnesty to the pro-Indonesia militia -- thus
encouraging their repatriation -- has been thwarted by a United Nations
official dealing with human rights issues," he told Antara.
Armindo
revealed that after his visit across the border to East Nusa Tenggara
before being elected president earlier this year, where he had reportedly
promised amnesty, Xanana had been reprimanded by the UN official. He also
said that he had heard about in absentia trials being organized in East
Timor
against pro-Indonesia militiamen in exile.