Foreign Correspondence

[fuagf]

Rogues Gallery .. General Wiranto



When East Timor voted in 1999 for independence from Indonesia, militia groups trained and supported by the Indonesian
army killed at least 1,000 East Timorese and forced three quarters of the population to flee to neighboring West
Timor. In January, 2000 an Indonesian commission reported that the Indonesian military was involved in the
violence, had committed crimes against humanity, and that overall responsibility lay with then commander
in chief General Wiranto. Journalists claim that as the violence broke they pleaded with Wiranto to discipline
his troops and boost efforts to stop the militia. Wiranto responded by denying the reports of violence.

UN 'Blocking Arrest of Wiranto' .. By Jill Jolliffe
Sydney Morning Herald .. January 14, 2004

East Timor's chief prosecutor has accused the United Nations of blocking an arrest warrant for war
crimes against Wiranto, the Indonesian general who is a front-runner for presidential elections in
July. "There are no legal obstacles, only political obstacles, both in Indonesia and East Timor,"
http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/wanted/2004/0114block.htm

Justice for Timor War Criminals?
By David Loyn
BBC
February 18, 2005

Aprecio Guterres will be the last person to be tried by the war crimes court set up in East Timor. After his case has been heard, the United Nations has ordered the court to close, as operations wind down ahead of the final UN pullout on 20 May. It has already stayed a year beyond its original mandate, and no further extension looks likely. If he is found guilty, Mr Guterres will be the 75th person to be jailed for crimes connected to the events of 1999, when a vote for independence sparked violent gun battles. More than 500,000 people had to leave their homes, tens of thousands died and most of the buildings of East Timor were destroyed as Indonesian forces went on the rampage.

The end of the war crimes trials will mean that the most high-profile person to be indicted, the former head of Indonesia's armed forces, General Wiranto, will never face charges in East Timor. He is unlikely to face trial in Indonesia either, despite being found "morally responsible" by a government-sponsored human rights inquiry. The Indonesians did put 18 people on trial, but none are actually in jail.

Compared to Liliput ...............

Mr Ramos Horta has compared his country to Jonathan Swift's Lilliput - too small to take on a giant. "East Timor is not going to be the Lilliputian judge, which is going to bring to justice very powerful Indonesian ministers," he said. "If we are seen by Indonesia as conniving with the international community to continue to embarrass Indonesia, it could have a backlash against East Timor." But as the UN prepares to pull out, there are signs that the institutions it has built have failed to put down deep roots.

'Corruption and interference'

All of the country's judges are currently in classes, after failing law exams, and the nation's police force appears
to have learnt too many of its techniques from the past, and not enough from the UN-financed international trainers.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/tribunals/timor/2005/0218timorwarcrimes.htm

http://www.globalpolicy.org/intljustice/wanted/wirantoindex.htm

THEN, East Timor didn't want to embarrass Indonesia.

NOW, Spain don't wish to embarrass President Obama.