Indonesia rejects Timor extraditions
Caption:: Pro-Jakarta militias (sic) killed more than 1,000 people.
By Richard Galpin BBC Jakarta correspondent
The Indonesian Government has categorically ruled out extraditing a group
of soldiers and East Timorese militiamen, indicted by international
prosecutors in East Timor for crimes against humanity.
The group includes Eurico Guterres, a notorious militia leader, suspected
of involvement in some of the worst massacres of independence supporters.
At least 1,000 people were killed in violence surrounding East Timor's
vote
to break away from Indonesian rule in 1999.
Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wahidi Supriyadi, told the BBC the government
had no intention of extraditing the group of 17 men, who are all believed
to be living in Indonesia.
He said there was no extradition treaty between the two countries.
Although Jakarta did sign an agreement to co-operate with investigations
into the violence surrounding the independence vote, Mr Supriyadi said
this
did not include handing over suspects.
He added the Indonesian Government had already set up its own human rights
tribunals to prosecute those responsible for the violence, although so
far
no cases have been heard.
Little surprise
All this will come as little surprise to international prosecutors in
East
Timor, who issued the indictments on Monday.
Last October a warrant for the arrest of the pro-Jakarta militia leader,
Eurico Guterres, was similarly ignored by the Indonesian authorities.
A United Nations spokesman in East Timor told the BBC a memorandum of
understanding, signed with Indonesia two years ago, does cover the transfer
of suspects and the execution of arrests. But, in a conciliatory statement,
he said the UN would be pleased if the tribunals in Jakarta do now go
ahead.
He said prosecutors in East Timor would share all the evidence they had
already gathered.
But it is still far from certain that the government in Jakarta will
press
ahead with the tribunals, and if they do, whether any senior military
or
militia figures will ever be prosecuted.