Rights groups marking the 21st anniversary of the massacre of 270 Timorese by Indonesian forces are demanding justice for this and other crimes committed during Jakarta's occupation of Timor Leste.

In a joint statement issued on Monday, Amnesty International and the Timor Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal (ANTI) pointed out that no one had been held to account for the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991, in which Indonesian security forces opened fire on a peaceful funeral procession-turned-pro-independence rally of some 3,000 Timorese people marching to the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili.

"Impunity persists for perpetrators of serious crimes committed by the Indonesian security forces and their auxiliaries during the occupation of Timor Leste and in 1999 [following an independence referendum]," the groups said.

"These crimes included unlawful killings, enforced disappearance, rape and other crimes of sexual violence against women and girls, torture and other ill-treatment. Many of these crimes amount to crimes against humanity and violate international law and standards."

They also said that although more than 300 people had been indicted for crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations during the occupation that lasted from 1975 to 1999, none had been imprisoned for their offenses.

"The Indonesian authorities have refused to cooperate with the UN-sponsored justice system in Timor Leste and to extradite their nationals suspected of crimes against humanity to stand trial in Timor Leste," they said.

"In Indonesia, all 18 defendants originally tried for crimes committed in Timor Leste during 1999 by the ad hoc Human Rights Court in Jakarta were acquitted by the court or later on appeal."

Amnesty and ANTI said that given the lack of action against the suspected rights violators, the UN should "take concrete and effective steps to establish a long-term comprehensive plan to end impunity for all the perpetrators of human rights violations committed in 1999 and during the Indonesian occupation."

They also called for the ratification by both countries of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and for the full implementation of recommendations from the bilateral Commission of Truth and Friendship to establish the fate and whereabouts of disappeared persons.

The UN and the governments in both Jakarta and Dili "must ensure that victims of the Santa Cruz massacre, and all those who suffered during the Indonesian occupation and in the context of the 1999 referendum, have access to justice, truth and reparation," the groups said.

"Continued inaction will further entrench a culture of impunity, and leave a dark stain on the UN's record in Timor Leste," they added.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) also urged the UN, the United States and other governments to fulfill outstanding promises of justice for the victims of rights abuses during the occupation and after the referendum.

"Impunity for decades of systematic Indonesian military and police atrocities prevents both countries from consolidating the rule of law as they transition from military dictatorship to democracy," John M. Miller, the US national coordinator for ETAN, said in a statement.

The Santa Cruz massacre, unlike earlier atrocities during the occupation, was witnessed by Western journalists and prompted congressional action in Washington to restrict US weapons sales and defense cooperation with Indonesia.