Global Policy Forum

Achmad Sukarsono and Jerry Norton

An East Timor tribunal issued an arrest warrant Monday for former Indonesian military chief Wiranto, now running for president, citing crimes against humanity in 1999 when East Timor broke from Jakarta's rule. More than 1,000 people died in bloody fighting at the time, with the bulk of the deaths blamed on pro-Jakarta militias backed by elements of the Indonesian military. Wiranto was the military chief then.

The warrant comes more than a year after Wiranto was indicted by prosecutors for the East Timor Serious Crimes Unit and less than a month after he won the presidential nomination of the Golkar party.

Golkar, the political vehicle of former autocrat Suharto during his decades-long rule, was the winner of Indonesia's April 5 parliamentary elections. "The issuance of the Wiranto warrant is an important step in our continuing efforts to bring justice to those responsible for the violence against the civilian population of East Timor in 1999," said Serious Crimes Unit special prosecutor Nicholas Koumijan in a statement.

Wiranto has consistently denied committing any human rights violations and says an Indonesian judicial panel found him innocent of such accusations. "I believe that the issue came to the surface again after I became a presidential candidate. I think this is an effort at character assassination," he told reporters after the warrant was issued. He has repeatedly said he has good relations with some of East Timor's top leaders.

The indictment brought against Wiranto in February 2003 charged him "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." It argues that under international law, commanders are criminally responsible if they knew of crimes against humanity by those under their control and failed to act to stop them.

The East Timor special crimes unit and court were set up with U.N. backing and advice and include international staff. The judge who issued the warrant is an American. Indonesia has made clear previously that it does not consider the East Timor court to have jurisdiction over its nationals and has said it has no intention of arresting or extraditing those charged by the panel.

Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natelagawa said in comments broadcast Monday that policy had not changed. "This comes from a court in East Timor which we don't acknowledge and we need not follow up that ruling. We won't go all crazy about it because this is not the first time they come up with such a ruling."

Asked whether this arrest warrant should be honored by Indonesia, prosecutor Koumijan said: "Every government has that duty." "My hope is that governments will cooperate in bringing him to court," he told Reuters.

Regardless of Indonesia's actions, the warrant could cause problems for Wiranto if he tried to travel, as he could be subject to arrest in countries that do recognize the court's authority. The political impact is uncertain. Many Indonesians opposed East Timor's independence or are unsympathetic to what they see as foreign interference in Indonesia's legal system.