http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/10/1084041335694.html? UN court seeks Wiranto arrest By Matthew Moore Indonesia Correspondent Jakarta May 11, 2004
A United Nations-funded court in East Timor has issued a warrant for the arrest of Indonesian presidential candidate Wiranto, beginning a process that could eventually see the former military commander seized if he leaves Indonesia. An American judge at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in East Timor issued the warrant yesterday, nearly 16 months after UN prosecutors handed over 15,000 pages of evidence, part of an indictment against Mr Wiranto and seven officers for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during East Timor's 1999 independence vote. Although the former general is in no immediate danger of arrest, the decision of the Dili court yesterday to accept the evidence of prosecutors and order his arrest and trial is a serious blow to his election campaign. Mr Wiranto was in Surabaya in East Java yesterday briefing senior officials from his Golkar Party on their campaign strategy for the July 5 poll when he learned the news. Mr Wiranto's campaign manager, Tito Sulistio, questioned the validity of the claim announced in a statement from the court in East Timor. "We have not seen any letter," he said. "I want to see a formal letter saying this before I will respond." As commander of Indonesia's armed forces at the time of the vote for independence, Mr Wiranto is accused of allowing East Timor militias as well as his own troops to kill about 1500 East Timorese. The Serious Crimes Unit statement issued yesterday said Mr Wiranto was charged "with command responsibility for murder, deportation and persecution committed in the context of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population in East Timor". "International law holds commanders criminally responsible if they knew or had reason to know of the commission of crimes against humanity by those under their effective control but failed to take reasonable and necessary measures to prevent the crimes or punish the perpetrators." The deputy general prosecutor for serious crimes, Nicholas Koumjian, said the warrant was "an important step in our continuing efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the violence against the civilian population of East Timor". A committee in East Timor will review the warrant and is likely to ask Interpol to arrest Mr Wiranto if he leaves Indonesia, although this process is likely to take months. Just hours before news of the warrant became public, Mr Wiranto had talks with a leading human rights campaigner, Solahuddin Wahid, to finalise his agreement to be Mr Wiranto's running mate in the July election. Mr Wahid, the deputy head of Indonesia's Human Rights Commission (Komnas Ham), said he and Mr Wiranto would register their names with election authorities today for the July 5 poll to elect the country's president and vice-president. Mr Wahid admitted yesterday that many Indonesian human rights figures had contacted him to express their disappointment at his decision. Mr Wahid, who is the younger brother of former president Abdurrahman Wahid and a deputy chairman of the biggest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, said Mr Wiranto had assured him that he would be able to continue his human rights work if elected vice-president. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/BRUplB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.arsip.da.ru *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Posting: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 7. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
