President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was very quick in implementing one of the recommendations of the joint Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) – expressing regret.

"We have conveyed our very deep regret for what happened in the past, which caused casualties and material damage," President Yudhoyono said in Bali on Tuesday, after receiving the commission's report along with Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta.

But the Indonesian President also was quick in confirming the international community's skepticism that Indonesia would do anything to uphold justice against those responsible for the gross human rights violations around the 1999 independence referendum in East Timor (now Timor Leste).

"We cannot move forward and reach our dreams if we always focus our attention on the past," Yudhoyono insisted. This means that for Indonesia the CTF report is final, and it will not be followed up with any action, as demanded by the United Nations.

Yudhoyono intentionally expressed "regret" and not "apologies". But even an apology is meaningless when it is not followed with concrete measures to correct the mistake and ensure it never happens again.

It is very clear that in the years to come, Indonesia will be haunted by its former colony and become a pariah among civilized nations, because we can not rid ourselves of our narrow-minded nationalism and continuous self-denials over our brutal track record. As proven by our persistent refusal to punish any gross human rights violators, there is no hope that the victims of massacres, rapes and violence in 1999 in East Timor will get justice.

Impressive. That was the first reaction of many people, including human rights activists, after reading the CTF conclusions that gross human rights violations occurred before, during and after the 1999 referendum in the then Indonesian province. The commission – comprising representatives of both countries – also concluded that there was systematic (Indonesian) institutional involvement in those atrocities.

"The commission concluded that the evidence left no doubt that pro-autonomy militias were the primary direct perpetrators of gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999...," the CTF says in its executive summary of the report.

In the next paragraph it writes, "TNI (Indonesian Military) personnel, police and civilian authorities consistently and systematically cooperated with and supported the militias in a number of significant ways that contributed to the perpetration of the crimes enumerated above."

But then there will be a different reaction: Ridiculous. Especially from those who believe any violations of human rights should not be left unpunished. Their disappointment is not a surprise, because as reflected in its name, the commission does not have the authority to recommend legal prosecutions.

It was understandable that the two leaders described the CTF's findings and its recommendations as impressive. But it would also be understandable if President Horta had described the commission's recommendation as "ridiculous".

On Tuesday, President Horta said, "Justice is not and cannot be only prosecutorial in the sense of sending people to jail. Justice must also be restorative."

President Yudhoyono is misguided if he hopes an expression of regret and the acceptance of the CTF report settles the human rights violations. Indonesia has no choice but to follow up on the CTF findings with strong legal action if the country wants to be regarded as a truly civilized nation.

President Yudhoyono and his Timor Leste counterpart emphasized Tuesday the importance of moving forward for the two countries. But how can we move forward when the two nations have not gone through the truth enforcement and reconciliation process?

The nation needs to remember that thousands of people were killed, raped, tortured and displaced in 1999. It is right when we demand that Timor Leste also punish human rights abusers on their side. But as indicated by the CTF report, as a nation, Indonesia was the party most responsible for the atrocities.

Will we let ourselves be haunted by the 1999 massacres? The country must be ready to face severe consequences from the international community if we continue stubbornly to defend our human rights violators at the cost of Indonesia's future.