Calls for ETimor commission to seek 'justice'

Radio Australia - 06/06/2007, 18:24

The leader of East Timor's Republican party says the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is flawed because it fails to make perpetrators accountable for the violence of the country's 1999 independence vote.

Joao Saldahna told Radio Australia's Sen Lam that achieving reconciliation between East Timor and Indonesia should not be the commission's only goal. "It's important that while both countries work in terms of improving the relationship in a number of areas, the area of justice should be also tackled head on," he said.

President Jose Ramos-Horta and his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhyono, have agreed to extend to mandate of the commission by another six months.

But the body, modelled on South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has no power to prosecute, something which Mr Salsahna sees as a significant flaw.

"It's about going to the bottom of the case, knowing who did what," he said. "Then when we know who did what, the next stage is to say, 'You go to jail or you go for the amnesty.'" The United Nations estimates about 1,000 East Timorese died during the violence surrounding the independence vote, blamed largely on pro-Jakarta militias backed by elements of the Indonesian army. The two nations set up a truth commission in 2005 to investigate the bloody events.

Reconciliation, not justice

Defending the body, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta said the commission was a "noble approach" to dealing with the past.

"The important thing is that we do not allow ourselves to be hostage of the past, that we look forward with courage," he said.

He was speaking at a joint news conference after talks with Mr Yudhoyono, in which both leaders pledged to increase cooperation in trade, energy and education.

Dr Ramos-Horta says he is satisfied with progress made by the commission, which has been working since August 2005, summoning victims and alleged perpetrators of the violence.
Mr Yudhoyono said the two countries must "move forward" and leave the past behind.

"The government of Timor Leste and the government of Indonesia agreed and are committed to solving our past problems based on the principle of friendship and reconciliation, of truth, of friendships, and reconciliation and not a justice in this context."

But Mr Saldahna does not agree that improved ties should be given priority over achieving justice for victims and their families.

"Yes, there is a mood of reconciliation, yes, there is a mood of promoting better relationship between both countries, given the fact that Timor Leste's economic relations are in greater advantage if it's done with Indonesia," he said.

"But on the other hand, [there's] the issue of how do we know the situation, how do we know those who committed the crimes. "How do we know what is going to happen to them?"
Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 at the end of Portuguese rule and annexed the territory later that year, maintaining a heavy and sometimes harsh military presence.

East Timorese voted overwhelmingly to split from Indonesian rule but some pro-Jakarta voters and officials argued that the referendum had been rigged by the United Nations, although independent observers concluded the ballot was largely fair.

Militia leader Eurico Guterres, the only person jailed in Indonesia for the violence, is serving a 10-year sentence.