An agreement between the United Nations and Indonesia to pursue those responsible for the gross abuse of human rights in East Timor appears close to collapse. Under a memorandum of understanding signed two years ago, the two parties agreed to assist one other with criminal investigations and court proceedings. But Jakarta has ignored repeated requests to hand-over suspects who fled to Indonesia after post referendum violence in East Timor in September 1999. The UN will now hand its list of suspects to the international policing body Interpol.
Transcript:
Fitzgerald: United Nations prosecutors in East Timor have just charged another 17 people of committing violent crimes in the wake of the independence referendum.
The UN's deputy chief of mission in East Timor, Dennis McNamara says the latest indictments include charges against the notorious Aitarak militia leader Eurico Guterras, who is now an active member of the party of Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
McNamara: And the charges are claims against humanity which means as I say murder, rape, violence, torture, multiple charges with allegations of a systematic process making it a crime against humanity rather than just symbol murders.
Fitzgerald: Indictments have also been issued for the leaders of the Besi Merah Putih militia and for several members of the Indonesian military.
The stand accused of carrying out a reign of terror in the capital Dili, including an attack on the home of independence leader Manuel Carrascalao.
Manuel's 19 year-old son Manuelito was hacked to death in the attack and 11 refugees sheltering at his home were slaughtered.
The new charges have thrown light on the failure of the co-operation agreement between Dili and Jakarta. Under the agreement Indonesian authorities were to have assisted UN prosecuters getting access to suspects for questioning.
McNamara: We have an agreement that they would co-operate with us and under that agreement we are sending the indictments for those who are in Indonesia to the attorney-general's office in Jakarta as we informed him last week when we were there we informed his office. And we will ask their usual co-operation and we'll also request a transfer for the deal for trial but that will be up to the Indonesian authorities. There is no extradition agreement yet.
Fitzgerald: And there lies the problem. So far Jakarta has failed to turn any suspects over to the UN in East Timor for questioning. Officials from the Indonesian Attorney General's Department had in the past however promised the UN efforts would be made to round up the suspects.
This week however The Jakarta Post newspaper has quoted senior Indonesian officials as announcing there will be no handovers to the UN because there is no extradition treaty. Frustrated by the lack of action Dennis McNamara says the UN is approaching Interpol to issue international arrest warrants which would become active if any of the suspects attempted to travel outside Indonesia.
McNamara: We'll also send the indictments to Interpol and once they have accepted and we have become a member or observer of Interpol, we will ask them for these arrest warrants to be registered internationally which means that all countries should be obliged to execute them, to carry them out if the people appear.
Fitzgerald: There are other sings that President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government has little intention of bringing human rights abusers within its military and former militias to justice. For example the recent promotion of the former commanding chief of Jakarta, Major-General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to the influential position of military spokesperson.
The general has a controversial record as Jakarta's military commander in 1998 when four protesting students were killed sparking street protests. He is also remembered as failing to control rioting mobs who raped and looted Chinese women and their families in the same year. Mr Pauvam of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association says his group has lodged an official protest about the general's appointment.
Pauvam: Sjamsoeddin is one of the suspects of the the human rights violation during May 1998, during the massacre in Jakarta. During the massacre Sjamsoeddin was the chief of commander in Jakarta.
Fitzgerald: Human rights groups are also criticising Indonesia's new ad-hoc human rights courts which are about to start trying some local and East Timorese human rights cases. Mr Pauvam says the Human Rights courts will be ineffective because prosecutors appointed to them are either serving military officers or they have been selected from the prosecuters office which in the past has been linked with corruption.
Pauvam: Two prosecutors come from the military institution. It's a small number but it is the violator of the principle of the human rights, especially the independence of the judiciary. We demand that the government choose a prosecutor who is a civilian and not from the prosecutor's office.