For Immediate Release
Contact: John M. Miller (ETAN), New York +1/917-690-4391;
etan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Coalition Urges UN to Take Active Role Promoting Justice
for East Timorese
In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, an international
coalition of more than 90 human rights and other organizations urged
the UN and the international community "to fulfill their long-standing
commitment to see that justice is done for crimes against humanity
committed in Timor-Leste" during Indonesia's two and one-half decade
occupation.
The letter comes as the bi-lateral Commission on Truth and Friend****p
(CTF) prepares to hand its re****t over to the presidents of Indonesia
and Timor-Leste.
The letter said the CTF re****t "must not stand as the last word on
these issues .... The right to know (the truth) and the right to
justice are inalienable, and are a bulwark against the culture of
impunity represented by [Indonesia's] Ad Hoc Court and the CTF."
The letter noted the April release of Eurico Guterres, the last
remaining defendant of Ad Hoc Court. All those tried by the court have
now been acquitted bringing that "farcical process to an end."
The letter urged the Secretary-General "to work towards the creation
of an ad hoc international criminal tribunal for those who bear
greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity
committed from 1975 onwards, not just in 1999," as recommended by The
independent Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR)
and the UN's own Commission of Experts.
The organizational signers were joined by more than 30 academic and
other concerned individuals.
The letter with a list of signers is available in English, Bahasa
Indonesia and Tetum at http://www.etan.org/news/2008/056moon.htm.
In April, 34 members of the U.S. Congress urged the U.S.
administration to "take a leader****p role" in bringing those
responsible for human rights violations perpetrated against the people
of Timor-Leste during and immediately following the Indonesian
occupation to justice. "If credible trials and appropriate punishments
of those responsible for major human rights violations are to occur,
an international effort is needed," they wrote.
The congressional letter specifically urged the U.S. to respond to the
CAVR re****t. A number of its recommendations and findings concern the
U.S., the UN, and the broader international community.
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