RI criticizes UN for stance on Timor Leste commission

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 07/31/2007 12:17 PM

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Manila

Indonesia said it will continue joint efforts with the Timor Leste government to solve past problems and seek reconciliation through the Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) despite a boycott by the United Nations.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said the UN had to be realistic that a prosecutorial approach alone would not solve the nations' problems.

Indonesia, according to Hassan, will stick to the CTF's terms of reference, including on an amnesty to pardon those sincerely helping the process by cooperating, because it was the only acceptable way for both countries to overcome their differences.

""The UN has to realize this is a reconciliation process and not a prosecutorial one. We have established terms of reference to find out the truth and we are committed to not prosecuting perpetrators. I told CTF members that as long as the process is credible and consistent with the terms of reference set, they will find out the truth,"" he said.

Criticizing the commission for allowing amnesties for those who committed serious crimes, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told UN officials Thursday not to testify before a panel investigating the 1999 killings in Timor Leste.

""The United Nations' policy is that the organization cannot endorse or condone amnesties for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or gross violations of human rights, nor should it do anything that might foster them,"" Ban was quoted as saying by Reuters.

""Unless the terms of reference are revised to comply with international standards, officials of the UN will not testify at its proceedings or take any other steps that would support the work of the CTF,"" he said.

Among those who have been called on to testify are former UN secretary general Kofi Annan and UN special representative in Timor Leste in 1999 and current UN envoy in Nepal Ian Martin.

Hassan said two sovereign countries should be able to solve their problems in a way that both countries voluntarily agree on.

""We never forced Timor Leste to agree, but they realized it was important to solve our past problems without sacrificing our friendship and cooperation,"" said Hassan, adding that the UN is yet to offer an alternative solution.

Hassan said the strict prosecutorial approach applied by the UN in countries with a similar past to that of Indonesia and Timor Leste has failed to address issues of impunity and solve problems comprehensively.

In a war crimes tribunal in the former Yugoslavia, for example, only Slobodan Milosevic has been tried, while a trial in Cambodia is yet to begin, Hassan said.

He said the UN's insistence on trying the alleged killers of former Lebanese prime minister Hariri might also be counterproductive to the peace process in the country.

""These examples prove that prosecution alone does not solve problems. Even the U.S. realizes reconciliation through the CTF is the only way to solve Indonesia and Timor Leste's past problems,' he said.

Indonesia and Timor Leste have agreed to work together to investigate the violence that followed the UN-supervised independence vote in 1999.

Riots blamed on militia backed by the Indonesian military killed up to 100,000 people and forced 250,000 people from their homes in the former Portuguese colony. During the violence, many buildings were burnt to the ground.

However, Indonesia claims the figures are far lower, with only about 100 people being killed in the violence before Australian troops arrived followed by a UN peacekeeping mission.

Both Indonesia and Timor Leste have set up parallel systems to prosecute those responsible for the violence, but UN reports have described their efforts as inadequate.

While the commission is unable to prosecute perpetrators, its hearings are likely to have an impact on the Indonesian public and government.

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