Human Rights Groups Call For End To Farcical Commission
Letter:
a.. English PDF file
b.. Tetum PDF file
c.. Bahasa Indonesia PDF file
OPEN LETTER
TO THE PRESIDENTS OF THE REPUBLICS OF INDONESIA AND TIMOR-LESTE
REGARDING THE INDONESIA-TIMOR LESTE
COMMISSION OF TRUTH AND FRIENDSHIP
May 23, 2007
Dear President Yudhoyono and President Ramos-Horta,
You will recall that the June 2005 report to the United Nations
Secretary-General of the Commission of Experts to Review the Prosecution of
Serious Violations of Human Rights in Timor-Leste (then East Timor) in 1999
recommended that Indonesia review prosecutions before the Ad Hoc Human Rights
Court for Timor-Leste, investigate and prosecute those named in the Wiranto et
al indictment, and report to the Secretary-General within six months of a date
to be determined by him on the outcome of its investigations. It also
recommended that if these measures were not initiated within this time frame,
the Security Council should act to "create an ad hoc international criminal
tribunal for Timor-Leste".
Before that report could be properly considered by the Secretary-General and
the Security Council, your two governments set up the Indonesia-Timor Leste
Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF/KKP) to "establish the conclusive truth
in regard to the events prior to and immediately after the popular consultation
in 1999." However, the CTF has had many problems since its inception. They
include:
a.. A lack of legitimacy attributable to three main factors: the perception
that the CTF was established to avoid calls for an international criminal
tribunal to try those accused of crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste in
1999; the failure to address crimes committed before 1999; and the amnesty
provision, which would allow perpetrators of serious crimes to avoid
accountability.
b.. The absence of any clear procedure for reviewing existing evidence about
the violence in 1999 in order to arrive at a consensus about the truth,
especially since key Indonesian government institutions have failed to provide
relevant records.
c.. Serious deficiencies in the public hearings, including obvious biases on
the part of some commissioners; the introduction of testimony irrelevant to the
Commission's mandate; the absence of any means for cross-checking testimonies
against facts established by previous processes or actual evidence; conflict
between Indonesian and Timor-Leste Commissioners; lack of assistance and
protection for victims who testify; the ad hoc nature of witness testimonies;
an imbalance of representation between victims and perpetrators; and the use of
the public hearings as a forum for perpetrators to continue to blame the United
Nations and other actors for the violence.
d.. Lack of transparency, clarity and a clear timetable for the Commission's
work.
It is obvious from its mandate and its performance that the CTF is not a
credible mechanism to seek justice or even truth regarding events in
Timor-Leste in 1999, let alone from 1975 to 1999. Out of respect for the
victims of the violence and the rule of law in both nations, we, the
undersigned representatives of human rights and other civil society groups in
Timor-Leste, Indonesia and other nations, therefore urge you to immediately
abandon the CTF and support a more credible judicial process.
With the agreement of the Indonesian Government to extradite those within its
jurisdiction, and given greater resources and political backing than
previously, the Special Panels for Serious Crimes (SPSC) of the Dili District
Court could be reconstituted to complete outstanding prosecutions. The UN
Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste has already taken the first step in this
direction, by undertaking to complete the investigations which remained
unfinished when the Serious Crimes Unit was closed down prematurely in 2005.
Given the inevitable and wholesale failure of the CTF/KKP we therefore call for
the reconstitution of the SPSC. If that is not possible, we will continue to
call for the establishment of an international criminal tribunal in line with
the Commission of Experts report.
Other efforts that your governments could make to address the human rights
violations committed during the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste include
requesting the United Nations Security Council to implement former UN
Secretary-General Annan's recommendation, made in his Report on Justice and
Reconciliation in Timor-Leste in July 2006, for an International Solidarity
Fund for Timor-Leste; and discussion in both national parliaments on how to
implement the recommendations in Chega!, the Report of the Timor-Leste
Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR).
Finally, we draw your attention to the 4 May letter to UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moon from the International Center for Transitional Justice, and the 28
March statement from the Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International
Tribunal. Both of these initiatives are also highly critical of the CTF and
urge the creation of a credible mechanism to hold accountable high-level
perpetrators of crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste. Anything less will fail
to resolve this issue, which will continue to hamper the growth of democracy
and respect for the rule of law in both Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
Yours sincerely,
Yasinta Lujina
La'o Hamutuk (Timor-Leste Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and
Analysis)
Rosa Maria de Sousa, Executive Director
FOKUPERS (Communication Forum for Timor-Leste Women)
Jose Luis Oliveira, Director
HAK Association, Timor-Leste
Casimiro Dos Santos, Deputy Director
JSMP (Judicial System Monitoring Programme), Timor-Leste
Nicolau Alves, Secretariat
Timor-Leste National Alliance For International Tribunal
Edio Saldanha
representing families of victims, Timor-Leste
Maria Afonso de Jesus
Rate Laek (Victims group from Liquisa), Timor-Leste
Carolina do Ceu Brito
Nuno Rodriguez
Institution for Popular Education, Timor-Leste
Sisto do Santos
Front Estudante Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste
Maria Angelina Sarmento
Executive Director, Timor-Leste NGO Forum (FONGTIL)
Dr Mark Byrne, Convenor
Australian Coalition for Transitional Justice in East Timor
Sister Josephine Mitchell, Director
Sister Susan Connelly, Assistant Director
Mary MacKillop East Timor
Rob Wesley-Smith
AFFET (Australians for a Free East Timor), Darwin
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Antonio Dias and Bruno Kahn
Agir pour Timor, France
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John M. Miller
National Coordinator
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, USA
James Goldston, Executive Director
Open Society Justice Initiative, USA
Sharon Silber & Eileen B. Weiss
Co-Founders, Jews Against Genocide, USA
Sr. Sheila Kinsey, OSF
Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation Office of the Wheaton Franciscans,
U.S.A.
(Rev.) James Kofski
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, USA
Ed McWilliams
West Papua Advocacy Team , USA
Mark C. Johnson, Ph.D., Executive Director
The Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA
Rafendi Djamin, Coordinator
Human Rights Working Group, Indonesia
Usman Hamid, Coordinator
KONTRAS, Indonesia
Rusdi Marpaung, Director
Imparsial -- The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor
Garda Sembiring, Director
PEC - People's Empowerment Consortium
Mugiyanto
Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang Indonesia - IKOHI (Indonesian Association of
Families of Disappeared)
Muridan S. Widjojo
Research Institute for Democracy and Peace (RIDEP), Jakarta
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Gus Miclat
Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC)
Anselmo Lee, Executive Director
Tadzrul Tahir Hamzah, Southeast Asia Sub-region Program Officer
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Roger S. Clark, Executive Committee
International League for Human Rights
Graeme Simpson, Director, Country Programs Unit
International Center for Transitional Justice
Charles Scheiner, International Secretariat
International Federation for East Timor (IFET)
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Maire Leadbeater
Indonesia Human Rights Committee, New Zealand
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Gabriel Jonsson, Chairman
Swedish East Timor Commission
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Carmel Budiardjo, Director
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, UK
Christine Allen, Executive Director
Progressio,UK
see also:
a.. Human Rights, Accountability and Justice page
b.. LH Briefing on justice for the Inter-Parliamentary Union (April 27)
c.. ETAN: Indicted Indonesian General Leads Joint Military Exercise
with U.S. (April 26)
d.. National Alliance for an International Tribunal: Statement Truth
and Friendship Commission Investigation must be for Justice, Not Amnesty (March
28)
e.. TL National Alliance Continues to Struggle for Justice (March 22)
f.. ETAN: An Overview Justice Processes and Commissions for Timor-Leste
(Feb.2007)
g.. Kontras,et al: CTF Tarnishing the Spirit of "Friendship" of Both
Nations (Feb. 23)
h.. KontraS-Elsam-Solidamor-HRWG-PBHI-Imparsial-PEC-ICTJ
Indonesia-YLBHI-FORUM ASIA: Commission of Truth and Friendship - A Stage Play
for Human Rights Abusers (March 23)
