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Generals may still get away with murder

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Green Left Weekly - February 9, 2000

Jonathan Singer – The Indonesian and United Nations human rights commissions have released their reports on the massive human rights violations that occurred in East Timor in 1999. The reports, released on January 31 and February 1 respectively, found the Indonesian military (the TNI) had been involved in systematic terror involving killings, rapes, property destruction and the forcible displacement of people.

The UN report found that these crimes against humanity "would not have been possible without the active involvement of the Indonesian army, and the knowledge and approval of the top military command ... Ultimately the Indonesian army was responsible." The Indonesian report, based on a more limited number of incidents, also heavily criticised the military and found that the Indonesian military chief at the time, General Wiranto, and other senior commanding officers were responsible – but only for knowing of the situation and not acting to halt it. The Indonesian report did, however, attempt to name those responsible and recommended the preparation of prosecution cases against as many as 40 officers, including Wiranto.

The Indonesian government, backed by the United States and Australian governments, has strongly opposed calls for an international war crimes tribunal, claiming that the government can conduct the necessary prosecutions itself. As a result, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has not supported the UN report's recommendation for such a tribunal.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid has called on Wiranto, who is the security minister in his government, to resign. Wiranto has resisted this call and attended a cabinet meeting on February 2 without being confronted.

Muhammad Ma'ruf, the editor of Pembebasan, the newspaper of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) in Indonesia, talked to Green Left Weekly immediately after the Indonesian report was released about what action is needed to bring the war criminals to justice.

The most significant thing about the Indonesian human rights commission's report, Ma'ruf said, is that it shows "the human rights violations in East Timor were planned, prepared, organised and systematically done by military officials, commanders in local areas and the civil bureaucracy, the governor [of East Timor] Abilio Soares, the heads of regencies [the districts] and the leaders of the military, Wiranto and other top officials. This evidence proves it was state policy."

State policy

The names of those to be brought to trial have been divided by the commission into three groups according to their responsibility, Ma'ruf said. But, he argued, the inquiry's finding is contradictory in that Wiranto and others responsible for national defence policy are said to be culpable only because they failed to halt the killings.

This excludes them from direct or supervisory responsibility.

"Wiranto was the chief commander of the army which planned and organised the systematic violation of human rights, which was part of the government's political policy. It would be wrong for Wiranto to be brought to trial simply for not being able to handle the situation."

Ma'ruf said that bringing the perpetrators to trial "will cause more conflict within the regime". The pressure will be on Wahid to force Wiranto to resign, and then to try him, because Wahid needs to show the people, and overseas governments, that the Indonesian government is clean.

"Wahid is being pressed by the international community – Amnesty International, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the central imperialist countries like the US and Australia, which want Indonesia more stable for investments – to bring them to trial."

Ma'ruf also noted, however, that Wahid has rejected the proposal for an international court and supported the generals being tried in Indonesia. "Wahid's government is a compromise, which has made some concessions to the military, Golkar [the former ruling party] and other forces, like those related to Suharto. He is defending this coalition government."

Wahid has to show the world his seriousness, Ma'ruf said. But "these are human rights crimes, not just common crimes. These must be brought to international trials.

"The commission said the human rights violations were systematically organised, but rejects that this was genocide. This is contradictory."

24 years not investigated

Ma'ruf criticised the commission for failing to connect the events of 1999 to the violence of the 25 years of occupation. "The report is not comprehensive; the human rights violations that happened during and after the referendum are part of the policy of all [Indonesian] governments over the 25 years of occupation. Suharto and Habibie, who continued in the most part Suharto's policy, should be investigated, as well as some generals, like Benny Murdani, the first chief commander, who organised the annexation of East Timor, and the other chief commanders before Wiranto."

What the Indonesian army did in East Timor in 1999, Ma'ruf said, "isn't separate from the annexation policy since 1975. In 1975, more people were killed than after the 1999 referendum – more than 250,000 died, one-third of the East Timorese people. There has to be justice. This needs to be investigated."

Ma'ruf, though, welcomed the commission's report. "The commission is a positive thing. It opens the way to investigation of all of the human rights violations in East Timor.

"Now, investigations must be broadened, not only with regard to East Timor, but also other parts of Indonesia, such as West Papua and the 1965 massacre [when Sukarno was deposed in a military coup]. A group of people have formed an independent commission to do this, the Foundation for Investigation of the Victims of the 1965 Killings."

Popular response

Ma'ruf said the dual function – political and military – of the TNI, which constrains the development of democratic political life in Indonesia, will be increasingly questioned, even though neither Wahid nor the human rights commission have connected the human rights violations to this dual function. "The democratic movement in Indonesia will be more confident and more determined to demand an end to the dual function. We have more proof to show to the people.

"Some people, and the government, when there are human rights violations, say these are individual actions, not policy. The human rights violations, according to the commission, were done systematically by the military and the bureaucracy. That is part of the dual function of the military, not individual actions", Ma'ruf argued. Ma'ruf was concerned that Indonesia's attorney-general, responsible for investigating and arresting those named, has not arrested them. "If they are not arrested, they can go abroad or hide evidence. It is important to press the Indonesian government to capture Wiranto and bring him to trial, not only before a national court, but before an international court. Without pressure, the Wahid government may shut down the investigation.

"The PRD has started to campaign for arrests and for the generals and human rights violators to be brought before an international court. We will do this in alliance with other groups, like the Commission against Violence and Kidnapping. We will propose they join actions and campaign to bring these killers to international courts."

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