United Nations – The UN official running East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, reiterated on Friday that he was "skeptical" about the ability of the Indonesian army to disband militias in West Timor.
"Where resolution and a certain degree of ruthlessness would seem to be required, we are witnessing hesitation and prevarication," he told the UN Security Council in a public meeting.
Indonesia said on Thursday that it had begun to forcibly disarm the militias, after a phase of voluntary disarmament earlier this week. "It has been started. Everybody is on the ground," Lieutenant Joseph Pereira, the head of military intelligence in the West Timorese border town of Atambua, told AFP by phone. "If they refuse to give up their weapons we will force them, and if they fight us we will take them on," he said.
But Vieira de Mello said "I remain skeptical that current activities will achieve this goal." He recalled that after a disarmament ceremony on Sunday in the West Timor border town of Atambua, militias reclaimed the weapons they had earlier surrendered.
The militas were led by Eurico Guterres, whom Vieira de Mello described as "a well-known suspect of crimes against humanity." The ceremony was staged by the Indonesian army in the presence of Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Vieira de Mello recalled that, after Sukarnoputri and other Indonesian officials had left, a small delegation which he had sent to the ceremony was threatened by a pro-militia crowd.
He said that before the ceremony, an Indonesian army officer told the delegation that there were still no suspects in the case of three UN relief workers who were murdered in Atambua earlier this month. The murder "happened in broad daylight in the presence of 10 Indonesian police officers," Vieira de Mello said. "There could hardly be a more eloquent demonstration of Indonesia's current inability – or refusal – to deal effectively with the problem," he added.
"This is impunity running rampant. What is required is a coordinated, integrated and comprehensive strategy on the part of the Indonesian security forces, together with the necessary will, to hunt down and break up the militias and bring their leaders to justice.
He said the Indonesian authorities should draw "a clear distinction between well-meaning pro-autonomy representatives and thugs such as Eurico Guterres who should be behind bars instead of being invited to attend meetings with high-level Indonesian officials."