Kopassus invited ex-fighters from East Timor, a former Indonesian province that is now a sovereign state called Timor Leste, as well as former fighters of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and their family members to celebrate the anniversary at Kopassus' headquarters in Cijantung, East Jakarta.

Many praised Kopassus for the invitations, which seemed to be aimed at making the force more open and transparent, as well as cleaning the historical stain of scores of human rights violations.

London-based human rights group Amnesty International (AI), however, said that accountability in resolving past cases remained the key for Kopassus to win back public trust.

'€œThere has been a shocking track record of impunity for past crimes by Kopassus and other military personnel. For example, in Aceh, dozens of detainees were tortured or otherwise ill-treated in Pidie between 1997 and 1998,'€ Josef Roy Benedict, AI'€™s Indonesia campaigner, told the Post.

He also criticized the fact that most of the crimes allegedly committed by Kopassus members had never been tried in independent and accountable judicial processes.

'€œAs long as there is a lack of accountability for these and other crimes allegedly committed by Kopassus, it will be extremely difficult for the unit to build trust with the public, in particular with victims of human rights violations,'€ Josef said.

He also challenged Kopassus to support the campaign to amend regulations related to military tribunals.

'€œIf Kopassus is serious about changing and addressing impunity and respect for human rights, it should work with the authorities to amend existing legislation to ensure that offenses involving human rights violations committed by military personnel are clearly defined in law and are tried in independent, civilian courts,'€ Josef said. (nvn)

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