Two Indonesian courts yesterday acquitted a general and five other officers accused of grave human-rights violations when East Timor voted for independence in 1999.
The verdict outraged human-rights groups, who have long feared that most of those who unleashed bloody mayhem across the half-island state would go unpunished, despite Indonesia's promises to the international community that justice will be done.
Concerned that future prosecutions against 11 other Indonesian officials would also collapse, some demanded the UN set up an independent war-crimes tribunal.
Military and police officers along with families and friends cheered and hugged yesterday's defendants when the "not guilty" verdicts were read.
One court cleared Brigadier General Timbul Silaen -- Indo-nesia's last police chief in East Timor -- of charges that he allowed his men to take part in atrocities or did nothing to stop a rampage by paramilitary gangs who opposed independence from Indonesia.
Later, another court acquitted a group of two active colonels and two majors in the army and police force, along with a retired army colonel.
"The defendants have not been proven guilty and therefore should be acquitted of all charges," said Judge Cicut Sutiarso.
He said there was "no evidence" they had conspired with the gangs who ended the violence when a multinational peacekeeping force arrived.
All had been charged with allowing men under their command to commit atrocities, which included rape, murder and driving hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
"We are very touched by the court's decision which has shown truth and justice," said retired army Colonel Herman Sedyono, one of the defendants.
"We are religious people. How can we commit murder or allow other people to commit murder?"
On Wednesday, the Indonesian-appointed governor of East Timor received only three years for his part in the violence.
The outside world has demanded Indonesia prosecute those responsible for the wave of killing, burning and looting that followed the overwhelming vote for independence in August 1999.
However, rights groups have had little faith in Indonesia's courts, long tainted by corruption and political interference, to handle the cases impartially.
"From the beginning, there was a lot of doubt about the court proceedings. East Timorese no longer believe in the justice system in Indonesia," said Aniceto Neves, who heads the rights group Yayasan HAK, in East Timor's capital, Dili.
The trials of the 18 former officials in East Timor have been widely criticized for failing to adequately portray the role of the Indonesian security forces in the violence. The UN and foreign governments say the security forces orchestrated the atrocities.
The sentencing Wednesday of the province's former governor -- Abilio Soares -- to three years imprisonment was the first verdict in the series of trials.
East Timorese leaders had expressed sympathy for Soares -- one of only three Timorese among the 18 defendants.
"It is as if the responsibility of the crimes that happened here will only be borne by East Timorese people," Neves said.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
RSS