New York – UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that the early release of a report blaming Indonesia for crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999 would mark the first step toward achieving justice and reconciliation.

A UN statement said Ban looked forward to "the early public release" of the final report of the Commission of Truth and Friendship to the presidents of Indonesia and East Timor.

The UN secretary general, who is currently on a visit to Germany, "hopes that this process will be the first step towards achieving justice and reconciliation."

Ban encourages the governments of Indonesia and Timor-Leste to "take concrete steps to ensure full accountability, to end impunity and to provide reparations to victims in accordance with international human rights standards and principles," the UN statement said.

Earlier Tuesday, Indonesia expressed regret for violence in East Timor in 1999 after accepting the report, but rejected calls for an international tribunal.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to implement the recommendations made by the truth commission in its report on the months of violence, including murders and rapes, surrounding East Timor's independence vote.

Ban meanwhile reiterated the United Nations' readiness "to extend its technical assistance in the implementation of such measures."

An estimated 1,400 people were killed when local militias backed by the Indonesian military rampaged through East Timor as the then-province voted to break away from Indonesia, which invaded in 1975.

Until now Indonesia has always blamed the local militias, and no Indonesian commander or civilian leader has ever been successfully prosecuted.