Don Greenlees, Jakarta – An Indonesian human rights court yesterday launched the prosecution of notorious former East Timorese militia leader Eurico Guterres – one of the crucial tests of justice over the violent campaign waged by militias and Indonesian military against East Timor's bid to gain independence in 1999.
Mr Guterres will stand trial in connection with the massacre of 12 people in the Dili home of prominent independence leader Manuel Carrascalao on April 17, 1999, by members of his Aitarak (Thorn) militia and out-of-uniform soldiers.
But the prosecution case accuses Mr Guterres, 28, of doing no more than making provocative public remarks and failing to intervene before the massacre.
"The defendant gave a provocative speech and did not take sufficient measures to prevent or stop his subordinates from attacking Manuel Carrascalao's house and murdering people who were in Carrascalao's house," the indictment says.
Critics of the judicial process, launched by Indonesia over the orchestrated campaign of violence in East Timor, say prosecutors have failed to address the role of militia leaders and military officers in directing the violence, instead suggesting "little more than criminal negligence on the part of the accused".
An analysis of the trials, produced by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said the indictments played down the extent of planning behind the violence and the nature of the violence, leaving the impression that the masterminds were "failing to prevent violence rather than actively orchestrating it".
The heart of the indictment against Mr Guterres involves a speech he gave to a militia show of strength in front of the East Timor governor's office, shortly before the attack on the Carrascalao house. The parade was witnessed by senior civilian officials and army commanders.
At the Jakarta hearing, prosecutors said Mr Guterres made a call to arms against the leadership of the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT), including Mr Carrascalao. "All leaders of CNRT must be eliminated. All pro-independence people must be killed," prosecutors quoted Mr Guterres as telling the crowd.
Later, militiamen and plainclothes members of the security forces embarked on a two-day spree of violence and harassment in Dili that left as many as 20 people dead. The indictment names 12 people who died in the Carrascalao house.
Three years after the events, Indonesian courts are yet to convict anyone over what the UN and Indonesia's human rights commission said were crimes against humanity.