Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono laid a wreath yesterday at an East Timor cemetery where Indonesian soldiers massacred dozens of pro-independence protestors 14 years ago.
Yudhoyono's visit to the Santa Cruz cemetery was another step towards reconciliation between Indonesia and the territory it occupied for a quarter century, often brutally, before it opted for independence in a UN-sponsored vote.
Indonesian troops opened fire on hundreds of demonstrators who had gathered at the Santa Cruz cemetery in November 1991 to honor pro-independence activist Sebastiao Gomez, who was killed a week earlier by the Indonesian military.
More than 200 people were believed killed in the shooting, which prompted the US to restrict arms sales to Indonesia and suspend the training of Indonesian soldiers.
A planned protest during Yudhoyono's visit to the cemetery with East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta yesterday did not materialize. He was instead greeted warmly by about 100 East Timorese, some of whom shook his hand.
The Indonesian president, who served in East Timor as a military officer, then moved on to a nearby cemetery for Indonesian soldiers who died during the occupation.
Speaking later after meeting with East Timor parliamentarians, the former general described the tiny country as a "true friend" because, despite its own financial difficulties, it had donated US$75,000 for victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated northwestern Indonesia.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed. I thank all the people of Timor Leste for their attention during our time of distress," Yudhoyono said.
He told a group of about 100 Indonesians living in East Timor that he felt welcome in the half-island country, where he arrived on Friday for his first visit to Dili since taking office last year.
"I was touched because along the way the people greeted me with enthusiasm. Some people called out my name. This shows that the two countries' relations are excellent," Yudhoyono said.
Yudhoyono had lunch with East Timor President Xanana Gusmao later yesterday before flying back to Indonesia.
Both countries have avoided addressing the military-backed atrocities committed after Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and before it pulled out in 1999.
Indonesia withdrew from the territory in a maelstrom of military-backed violence surrounding the UN independence vote. The UN alleged that at least 1,400 people were murdered. Whole towns were razed.
An Indonesian tribunal set up to try military officers and officials for atrocities in East Timor has drawn international criticism for failing to jail any high-ranking Indonesians.
The UN has begun a review of the tribunal, but Dili and Jakarta say the move is unnecessary, preferring to focus on a South African-style truth and reconciliation commission to deal with the past.
On Friday Yudhoyono and East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri signed a border agreement clarifying 96 percent of their mutual frontier and removing one of the last obstacles to reconciliation.
Indonesia yesterday began enforcing its newly ratified penal code, replacing a Dutch-era criminal law that had governed the country for more than 80 years and marking a major shift in its legal landscape. Since proclaiming independence in 1945, the Southeast Asian country had continued to operate under a colonial framework widely criticized as outdated and misaligned with Indonesia’s social values. Efforts to revise the code stalled for decades as lawmakers debated how to balance human rights, religious norms and local traditions in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. The 345-page Indonesian Penal Code, known as the KUHP, was passed in 2022. It
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’ US President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by the Danish prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in
PERILOUS JOURNEY: Over just a matter of days last month, about 1,600 Afghans who were at risk of perishing due to the cold weather were rescued in the mountains Habibullah set off from his home in western Afghanistan determined to find work in Iran, only for the 15-year-old to freeze to death while walking across the mountainous frontier. “He was forced to go, to bring food for the family,” his mother, Mah Jan, said at her mud home in Ghunjan village. “We have no food to eat, we have no clothes to wear. The house in which I live has no electricity, no water. I have no proper window, nothing to burn for heating,” she added, clutching a photograph of her son. Habibullah was one of at least 18 migrants who died
Russia early yesterday bombarded Ukraine, killing two people in the Kyiv region, authorities said on the eve of a diplomatic summit in France. A nationwide siren was issued just after midnight, while Ukraine’s military said air defenses were operating in several places. In the capital, a private medical facility caught fire as a result of the Russian strikes, killing one person and wounding three others, the State Emergency Service of Kyiv said. It released images of rescuers removing people on stretchers from a gutted building. Another pre-dawn attack on the neighboring city of Fastiv killed one man in his 70s, Kyiv Governor Mykola
RSS