Jakarta – The Indonesian government has rejected as unacceptable the trial in the United States of an Indonesian general accused of gross human rights abuses in East Timor in 1999.
A foreign ministry press statement issued late Friday rejected the trial in Washington of General Johnny Lumintang because it contravened the "lex locus delecti" principle, under which a trial should be held in the same place as the crime occurred.
"The application of US law for a crime that took place in a different country and filed by a non-US citizen will be difficult to accept by the international community," the statement said.
"It must be through an Indonesia ad-hoc human rights court which has been approved by the UN human rights commission." "The process to formulate the ad-hoc court for human rights cases in Indonesia is proceeding at this moment after the commission was approved last year," the statement said.
It added that the training of prosecutors and judges to stage the court would commence in the near future with the support and technical assistance from the UN high commissioner for human rights.
However Lumintang, who is remains on active service, has already been declared innocent of the charges by the Indonesian Attorney Generals Office.
The office examined more than 20 dossiers filed by the Komnas-HAM (National Commission on Human Rights) fact-finding team who investigated rights violations in East Timor, the ministry said.
The general was brought to trial in absentia in Washington DC earlier this week. He was charged with monitoring and supervising East Timor's pro-Jakarta militiamen to rape, kill, burn and forcibly evacuate East Timorese to neighbouring Indonesian West Timor.
Summing up the case in the US District Court on Thursday, lawyer Steven Schneebaum called for a large damages award against Lumintang to send a signal that no-one could escape judgment for crimes against humanity.
Lumintang was vice chief of staff of the army at the time of the 1999 East Timor vote for independence from Indonesia, which triggered a rampage by pro-Jakarta militias that launched massacres, forced tens of thousands from their homes and burnt the capital, Dili, to the ground.
The case was brought under US legislation which allows American jurisdiction over acts of torture committed outside the country.
A lawsuit can only proceed if defendants are served with legal papers while in the United States. Lumintang was presented with the civil suit during a visit to the US in March 2000. A judgment is expected in the next few months.