Washington – More than 50 international organizations have appealed to US President George Bush to use a White House meeting Wednesday with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to press for justice for victims of atrocities committed in formerly occupied East Timor.

In a letter to Bush, 53 human rights, religious and labor groups urged the US leader not to resume military cooperation ties with Jakarta until it cleaned up its domestic human rights record and punished those responsible for crimes against humanity in East Timor.

The White House has confirmed Bush would raise the justice issue with Yudhoyono in talks Wednesday.

The resumption of bilateral military relations, largely suspended since an Indonesian army massacre in Dili in 2001, was also expected to be on the White House agenda.

The activist organizations said recent appointments and promotions in Indonesia belied Washington's view that under Yudhoyono Jakarta was taking significant steps to improve respect for human rights.

In their letter to Bush, they also said that a bilateral Truth and Friendship Commission recently established by Jakarta and Dili appeared aimed to "guarantee impunity for violations of human rights rather than to encourage justice".