Protesters called yesterday for the disbanding of an Indonesia-East Timor commission looking into violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 independence vote, demanding justice for what happened.
The Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF), which was set up in 2005 by Indonesia and East Timor to promote reconciliation between the two neighbors, is holding a final round of hearings this week in East Timor.
But critics say that the commission, which is meant to uncover details of the violence and human rights abuses that occurred as East Timorese prepared to vote, is toothless because it lacks the power to punish those found responsible for abuses.
PHOTO: AFP
"We want justice," chanted about 70 members of student and rights groups as about 100 security personnel stood on standby.
"There is no tolerance for anyone intending to eradicate justice," read one banner, while another said: "Justice should go through the courts, not through compromise."
"The CTF only defends the criminals and stands in the way of justice," said Xisto da Costa, one of the protesters. "They don't hear the victims' voices."
The UN has strongly criticized the CTF and refused to send any of its officials to testify at several rounds of hearings, saying those guilty of rights violations should face justice.
"This hearing session is quite special, not only because it is the first time it is being held in Dili ... but also because this will be the last public hearing held by the commission," said Benjamin Mangkudilaga, the Indonesian co-chairman of the commission.
On Monday, the commission heard the testimony of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who led the nation's fight against Indonesian rule and who spent seven years in jail in Jakarta.
Yesterday a former district chief told the commission that before the vote he had been asked by the Indonesian military to set up a militia to defend integration.
"We were trained by General Prabowo in Aileu and we had weapons," Tomas Gonsalves said, referring to the former head of the Indonesian military's special forces, Prabowo Subianto.
Gonsalves alleged that then-governor Abilio Soares, who died earlier this year, asked militia members to kill independence supporters and church leaders.
In the 1999 vote the East Timorese voted in favor of breaking away from Indonesia, leading to serious violence blamed on militias backed by the Indonesian military.
PHISHING: The con might appear convincing, as the scam e-mails can coincide with genuine messages from Apple saying you have run out of storage For a while you have been getting messages from Apple saying “your iCloud storage is full.” They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take are not being uploaded. You have been resisting Apple’s efforts to get you to pay a minimum of ￡0.99 (US$1.33) a month for more storage, but it seems that you cannot keep putting off the inevitable: You have received an e-mail which says your iCloud account has been blocked, and your photos and videos would be deleted very soon. To keep them you need
The Israeli military has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations. The Guardian reviewed three videos posted by the Israeli military and on social media, which showed Israel carrying out mass detonations in the villages of Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese media has reported more mass detonations in other border villages, but satellite imagery was not readily available to verify these claims. The demolitions came after Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz called for the destruction of
A US YouTuber who caused outrage for filming himself kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves has been sentenced to six months in prison, a court in Seoul said yesterday. Johnny Somali, 25, gained notoriety several years ago for recording himself doing a series of provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan, and streaming them on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. South Korean authorities indicted Somali — whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael — in 2024 on public order violations and obstruction of business, and banned him from leaving the country. “The court has sentenced him to six months in
The death toll from a shooting in western Afghanistan rose to 11 on Saturday, after gunmen targeted civilians at a picnic spot in Herat, the provincial authority said. Bullet marks were visible on a wall of the Sayed Mohammad Agha Shia shrine, while bloodstains marked a blanket abandoned at the scene. “Eleven people have been recorded dead and eight others wounded from Friday’s incident, with the condition of two of the wounded reported as critical,” Herat’s information office said in a statement. The update raises a toll of seven killed provided on Friday by the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs
RSS