TAPOL Press release
Case for international tribunal overwhelming following Indonesia's
refusal
to transfer suspects
21 February 2002 - Indonesias decision to rule out the transfer to East
Timor of soldiers and militiamen indicted for crimes against humanity
means
that the case for an ad hoc international tribunal for East Timor is now
overwhelming, says TAPOL the London-based Indonesia Human Rights Campaign.
Paul Barber of TAPOL says:
"These are gross violations of such gravity that jurisdiction over
them is
universal. Indonesia is obliged under international law to transfer the
suspects to East Timor given that there is no prospect of meaningful trials
in Indonesia. Its refusal to meet that obligation means that an
international tribunal is the only credible option for justice to be done."
The obligation to transfer suspects is also specifically set out in a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on legal co-operation signed by the
UN
administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and the Indonesian Government in
April 2000, despite claims this week by Indonesian Foreign Ministry
officials that no such obligation exists. The absence of a formal
extradition treaty is irrelevant in the circumstances and Indonesias
refusal to honour the terms of the MOU is a further indication of its
lack
of commitment to justice.
A total of 17 Indonesian troops and militiamen currently in Indonesia,
including notorious militia leader Eurico Guterres, were indicted by
international prosecutors in Dili on Monday for crimes committed during
an
attack on the home of independence leader, Manuel Carrascalao, in Dili
in
April 1999 when at least 12 people were killed. Indonesia has also refused
to transfer suspects charged under previous indictments issued in East
Timor.
Today's announcement by the office of Indonesias Attorney General that
seven senior officials have been charged with crimes against humanity
and
genocide does not increase the prospect of justice being done, says TAPOL.
The serious crimes process which has been initiated in Indonesia is deeply
flawed. Questions have been raised by Indonesian NGOs about the
experience, competence and independence of the judges and prosecutors;
there are severe restrictions on the jurisdiction of the ad hoc human
rights court established for the East Timor crimes (President Megawatis
decree setting up the court limited its work to crimes committed only
in
April and September 1999 in Dili, Liquica and Suai) ; no effective witness
protection programme is in place; and no attempt has been made to address
the problem of the Constitutional prohibition on retroactive prosecutions.
Many of the relevant criminal laws and procedures do not come up to
international standards.
The promotion this week of Major General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to military
spokeperson is another disturbing sign that the Indonesian Government
is
not serious about bringing human rights perpetrators to justice. Sjafrie
is well known in Indonesia and East Timor as a intelligence officer from
the Kopassus special forces who had a direct hand in some of the worst
violations around the time of the fall from power in 1998 of the former
dictator, Suharto. He spent many tours of duty in East Timor, culminating
in a semi-official re-appearance in mid-1999 when he supported the
pro-Jakarta militias in their campaign of terror before and after the
30
August popular consultation.
Gross and massive violations of human rights were committed in East Timor
over many years following Indonesias illegal invasion in 1975.
Military-backed violence intensified after January 1999 when then President
Habibie of Indonesia announced that the East Timorese people would be
allowed to decide their future political status. After an overwhelming
vote in favour of independence on 30 August 1999, a wave of violence and
destruction was unleashed by militia groups trained and supported by the
Indonesian military. Many hundreds were killed and around 250,000 East
Timorese were forcibly deported to Indonesian West Timor. Many of the
crimes committed amounted to crimes against humanity because of the
systematic and planned nature of the violence.
A UN Commission of Inquiry found evidence of a pattern of serious
violations of fundamental human rights in relation to the 1999 atrocities
and recommended the establishment of an international tribunal when it
reported in January 2000.