Indonesians Charged With War Crimes
By JOANNA JOLLY
DILI, East Timor, June 26 (AP) - Prosecutors on Wednesday charged two
Indonesian officers and 14 militiamen with crimes against humanity for
their
alleged involvement in the deaths of dozens of people during East Timor's
violent break with Indonesia in 1999.
Prosecutor Longuinhos Monteiro filed indictments in a Dili court against
suspects allegedly involved in more than 70 killings and four rapes in
East
Timor's Bobonaro and Oecussi districts in 1999.
The murders include those of two East Timorese citizens working for the
U.N.
mission that organized the August 1999 referendum in which East Timorese
voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia.
One of the U.N. workers was allegedly shot and killed by an Indonesian
military intelligence officer, identified only as Asis Fontes. He is one
of
the two Indonesian officers indicted.
The second officer, Lt. Sustrisno, is alleged to have been present when
both
U.N. workers were killed.
``This is a breakthrough case because it shows clearly that the killing
of
U.N. workers was part of a widespread and systematic attack, not only
carried
out by militiamen but also by serving members of the Indonesian military,''
said prosecutor Brenda Sue Thornton.
With the latest indictments, East Timor has charged 117 people for crimes
during the violence surrounding the referendum. The country officially
gained
independence on May 20.
Up to 1,000 East Timorese civilians were killed and hundreds raped and
tortured by the pro-Jakarta militias and their Indonesian military backers
before and after the independence vote.
Twenty-three suspects have already been convicted and are serving sentences
in East Timorese jails.
Only four East Timorese militiamen out of the 14 indicted Wednesday are
in
custody in East Timor, Thornton said. The rest, along with both Indonesian
officers, are at large in Indonesia.
Although arrest warrants have been issued, the government of the new
East
Timorese nation has yet to negotiate an extradition treaty with Jakarta.
Earlier this year, Indonesian authorities set up their own human rights
court
for atrocities committed in East Timor in an effort to avert the creation
of
international war crimes tribunals like those for ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Twenty-five Indonesian police, military and government officials face
charges
of crimes against humanity for their role in the violence. Thirteen are
currently on trial, including Dili police chief Hulman Gultom, who went
on
trial Wednesday.