Mixed media: Justice In Indonesia

The overturning of human-rights-abuse convictions against security forces members has sparked intense anger


AUSTRALIAN OPINION: New Zealand wants Australia to join its strong stand over the Indonesian forces accused of human rights abuses in East Timor during its 1999 vote for independence.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff plans to contact his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer, asking that he make clear Australia's stand on the issue.

Mr Goff has called on the UN to establish an International Crimes Tribunal on the issue, but seems more likely to gain international support for a truth commission. - The Age, Melbourne

ACTIVIST WEBSITE: Responding to an Indonesian appeals court's acquittal of all previously convicted Indonesian military and police officials for violence in East Timor, East Timor Action Network spokesperson John M. Miller said, "These acquittals shouldn't surprise anyone. Now that Indonesia's judicial farce is in its final act, the United Nations must step in and create an international tribunal with the resources and clout to credibly prosecute the masterminds of the terror in East Timor." - East Timor Action Network website


INTERNATIONAL WEBSITE: The Bush Administration could be forced to slow plans to resume relations with the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) after a Jakarta appeals court dismissed all pending cases against Indonesians indicted for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor five years ago.

The judicial action is also likely to fuel demands by human rights groups for the United Nations to create an international tribunal to bring to justice those responsible for the TNI-backed rampage.

This rampage resulted in the killing of as many as 1500 Timorese and the destruction of the newly independent country's infrastructure. - IPS news service website

UK LIBERAL OPINION: Nicholas Koumjian, a UN-appointed prosecutor for serious crimes in East Timor, said Indonesia had failed to demonstrate its commitment to uphold human rights and the rule of law. "The international community should now act to make sure impunity is not allowed to continue," he told the Guardian. "It should take a look at what happened and judge the process both in East Timor and Indonesia."

Amnesty International and Tapol, a campaign group for victims of alleged Indonesian oppression, said the UN should provide "meaningful justice for the victims". - The Guardian, London

CALLS REJECTED

AUSTRALIAN RADIO: East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta, says his country is opposed to the establishment of an international court to try Indonesians accused of crimes during East Timor's struggle for independence. He says his government does not want to undermine relations with Jakarta or exacerbate tensions inside Indonesia.

Mr Ramos-Horta says a tribunal is not a priority. "We also have to understand Indonesia's own difficulties," he said. " ... There are different forces at play in Indonesia and any international movement towards establishment of an international tribunal for East Timor could actually play into the hands of the fundamentalists." - ABC Radio Australia

INDONESIAN WEBSITE: East Timor has rejected calls for the creation of a United Nations tribunal to deal with Indonesia's failure to punish any military or police personnel over the carnage unleashed in the period surrounding the territory's 1999 vote for independence. The establishment of an international tribunal to try Indonesian troops could jeopardise relations between the two nations, cause political instability in Indonesia and threaten the war on terror, East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said. - Laksamana.Net, Indonesia

AMERICAN RADIO: Indonesia has struck back at critics of a court decision to annul the sentences of four members of the security forces convicted of abuses during East Timor's vote for independence five years ago. Washington was the latest to criticise the Indonesian court's decision to acquit the four officers, with a State Department spokesman saying the Bush Administration was "profoundly disappointed".

But the spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry, Marty Natalegawa, said that such criticism was premature. He said the judicial process was not finished, adding that Jakarta would be willing to consider some kind of truth and reconciliation commission similar to South Africa's at the end of apartheid. - Voice of America.