http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/6412239/timor-massacre-suspect-back-in-indonesia/
Timor massacre suspect back in Indonesia AAP October 31, 2009, 3:41 am Indonesia brought home a suspected militia leader accused in a massacre of dozens of women, children and priests in a church in East Timor a decade ago, the Foreign Ministry said. Maternus Bere arrived in Indonesia on Friday and was taken to a hospital with undisclosed health problems, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah. He faces no charges in Indonesia and will be a free man after treatment. An Indonesian national, Bere was indicted by UN prosecutors in 2003 on charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution, forced disappearances, torture, extermination and abduction. More than 1,000 people were killed by pro-Indonesian militias when East Timor voted to break from Indonesia in 1999, but more than 300 suspects remain at large, most of them in Indonesia. Leaders from both countries oppose criminal trials so rights activists have called for the establishment of a UN tribunal. Bere was recognised during a visit to Suai, the town where the massacre took place in September 1999, and was arrested by Timorese police in early August. He was handed over to the Indonesian embassy at Jakarta's insistence after negotiations between the two governments on August 30, the 10th anniversary of the tiny country's vote to become an independent state. East Timor's Supreme Court is investigating whether Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao violated the constitution by ordering Bere's release. Judges say political leaders illegally bypassed the courts with the release, highlighting the continuing challenge to establish an independent and viable judiciary after the tiny state broke from hundreds of years of colonialism in 2002. ++++ sábado, 31 de Outubro de 2009 CULPRIT OF SLAUGHTER REPATRIATED TO INDONESIA . Elin Yunita Kristanti - VIVAnews (via ETAN) - Jum'at, 30 Oktober 2009, 16:45 WIB The repatriation was done secretly and tightly guarded by Timor Leste police officers. Former Laksaur militia commander, Maternus Bere, who was arrested by Timor Leste police for his alleged involvement in the massacre at Suai Church, was repatriated to Indonesia. The convict in the post-election riot in 1999 which killed more than 200 civilians returned to Atambua, Belu regency. The repatriation was done secretly and tightly guarded by Timor Leste police officers. An official source from the office of Timor Leste Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, said Bere was no longer within Timor Leste's territory. "Please check with his family in Atambua. He was repatriated in the beginning of this week. Please check with the Indonesian Embassy in Dili," the source who wished to be unnamed said on Friday, October 30. Indonesian Territory Security Guard Commander, Let. Col. Yunianto, who was contacted on his mobile phone, refused to comment on the report. Dili Indonesian Embassy Public Relations Officer Neson Simorangkir would not also issue any statement. Maternus Bere's repatriation to Atambua made headlines in some of local media in East Nusa Tenggara. However, there is not any government nor the police and the military official source who was willing to comment. According to the information obtained from Atambua, Bere was repatriated by the Indonesian Embassy in Dili via a cross-border door in Motaain in north Belu regency. "Maternus went home on Thursday, October 29, in the morning," an immigration officer said. "He was picked up by the Indonesian military. For security reasons, he might be guarded by the police," the source said. Bere's son, Elyseus Kehi said he still did not know his father's whereabouts. The former commander of Laksaur militia company, one of the pro-integration groups in East Timor, was arrested by the country's police officers while attending a family event in Leorge Suai village, Covalima District in August. Earlier, Xanana Gusmao spokesperson, Antonio Ramos and Timor Leste Consulate in Kupang, Caetano de Sousa Guterres, said Bere was released in order to maintain a good relationship between the two countries. Even at a press conference in Dili, Gusmao said he was ready to accept the court's verdict if Bere's repatriation is considered improper. "I'm ready if I have to be jailed because I'm the one who gave the order to free Maternus Bere. If the verdict was coming from the Tribunal, I would immediately go to the prison. I know where Becora prison is," Gusmao said. Note: this article has some errors in background -- Bere has not been "convicted" and the post-referendum massacres were not a "riot." Nevertheless, it contains some information absent from the AP report. - Charlie] - Translated by: Nataya Ermanti . Publicada por Fábrica dos Blogs em 20:28 0 comentários Hiperligações para esta mensagem http://timorlorosaenacao.blogspot.com/2009/10/no-us-visa-for-2-indonesian-de [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
