East Timor on Friday indicted eight Indonesian soldiers and two militiamen for allegedly killing two UN election workers and attacking independence supporters during the country's bloody break from Indonesian rule in 1999.
The indictments bring to 391 the number of Indonesian military and militia members charged with human rights violations over the violence that left 1,500 Timorese dead and the half-island in ruins. The indictments were filed at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in the capital, Dili.
Prosecutors alleged that Lt. Mohamad Roni and soldiers Joao da Costa and Domingos de Deus gunned down the two UN election workers during an independence referendum on August 30, 1999. The soldiers targeted the pair at a polling station in Atsabe, about 57 kilometers west of Dili, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors also said that five members of the Indonesian army, including three district commanders, joined two militia leaders in attacks on independence supporters. The seven allegedly killed six independence supporters between early May and Aug. 11, 1999, in Viqueque, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of the capital. Prosecutors say the killings were aimed at convincing voters to reject independence. But the referendum passed and East Timor became a sovereign country in May 2002.
De Deus remains in Dili but the other nine suspects are believed to be in Indonesia. Some 280 others are also believed to be in Indonesia, including failed Indonesian presidential candidate Gen. Wiranto, who was the country's military chief in 1999.
Indonesia is under no obligation to hand over the suspects, and has said it will not respond to earlier indictments. East Timor has not aggressively pushed to have the defendants returned to the country, saying that maintaining good relations with its large neighbor is more important.
Courts in Jakarta were set up to prosecute top Indonesians responsible for the violence, but rights groups have widely criticized the trials as failures. All 16 police and military officers charged have been acquitted, while two ethnic East Timorese civilians were found guilty.