Hopes look dim – if not totally diminished – that victims of violence during the East Timor mayhem in 1999 will find the truth about the events before and after the referendum which saw the then Indonesian province vote for independence.

Former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret) Wiranto, the officer in charge of security in the territory at the time of the referendum, testified before the Commission of Truth and Friendship on Saturday that the violence, which left at least 1,000 people dead, according to UN estimates, and forced 250,000 others from their homes, was just inevitable.

Many people had anticipated – and understood – Wiranto's defiance. Like it or not, the general's testimony simply underlines a collective denial of responsibility among Indonesian Military officers who were entrusted by the UN to maintain security and order in East Timor.

There was no sign of remorse in the testimony of Wiranto and other security officers who turned up for the hearing, despite the widespread destruction resulting from the violence.

Indonesia was given the job to uphold peace and security during the historic referendum, after declining a UN offer to send in a peace-keeping force. Therefore, whatever the reasons for the violence that scorched East Timor, the TNI failed to deliver on its promise and carry out its duty.

For decades, East Timor was a restive territory where the TNI maintained a heavy presence due to a long-standing armed independence struggle. The violence, however, was never as devastating as the 1999 mayhem. Security measures were understandably increased ahead of the referendum, but the security authorities were unable to restore order when violence swept across the territory.

Can we now expect the joint Indonesia-Timor Leste truth commission, which has been working for the past year to reconstruct the events that marked the birth of a nation almost eight years ago, to declare Wiranto and the TNI responsible for the turmoil?

The establishment of the commission last August was not free from controversy and skepticism. It was set up following pressure on the UN to bring TNI officers to an international war crimes tribunal. The demand simply reflected distrust in Indonesia's judiciary after the country's ad hoc human rights court failed to convict top security officers in charge at the time of the UN-administered referendum of a failure to prevent the chaos from occurring. Some were handed jail sentences but a higher court overturned them.

But the fact that Timor Leste under outgoing President Xanana Gusmao opts to put good relations with its closest neighbor Indonesia ahead of the search for justice is indicative that the joint commission has lacked credibility from the beginning.

Another indication not much was to be expected from the commission was the two governments' agreement the commission would not seek trials or punishments for past crimes.

Timor Leste clearly blames Indonesia for the mayhem, as evident in the 2,005-page report of its Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR), submitted to the UN secretary-general two years ago.

Wiranto and other TNI officers have disclosed their own version of the circumstances that led to the human tragedy, which contradict the accounts of victims of the violence. It's now the turn of the joint commission to determine what really happened in the former Portuguese colony.

After taking statements from victims, witnesses and others, the joint truth commission will produce a final report that will be made public and serve as an official acknowledgement of what was often before either widely denied or little understood.

While the commission does not have the power to jail anyone for his/her past deeds, it may still make publicly known that certain individuals were responsible for past crimes, which can have other subsequent effects.

Whatever the commission's conclusions, Indonesia will have to bear the consequences.

There is a possibility the commission will be reluctant to declare Indonesian Military officers responsible for the violence, for the sake of friendship between the two neighbors. The chance is equally high that Indonesia's image as a protector of human rights abusers will grow stronger in the international community.