Print

Mail

wiki links

Indonesian general faces Timor probe

Indonesia's former military chief and others accused of taking part in a wave of violence that followed East Timor's break for independence will be called in for questioning next month, members of a joint truth commission said.

The role of the Truth and Friendship Commission, which began work in August, is to determine facts surrounding the 1999 bloodshed that left an estimated 1,500 dead -- not to prosecute suspects, commissioner Benjamin Mangkoedilaga reiterated on Friday.

People who were in a position of authority when the violence broke out will be summoned before the 10-member commission from January to July, including then-armed forces chief General Wiranto, who has long denied wrongdoing, he said.

"Clearly Wiranto's position will be examined," Mangkoedilaga said at a press conference.

Indonesian troops and their militia proxies went on a killing and looting spree when the people of East Timor overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1999, ending 24 years of sometimes brutal Indonesian rule.

About half of East Timor's 700,000 people were forced to flee their homes during the violence, which only ended with the arrival of peacekeeping troops.

The five Indonesian and five East Timorese commission members have for months been looking at documents from previous investigations and a special Indonesian human rights court, which failed to hand down a single sentence for any of the 18 people charged.

The commission will issue a report for the East Timorese and Indonesian governments describing the cause of the bloodshed.
This story has been viewed 1256 times.