December 14, 2000
Indonesian Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman said here Thursday 14 December that all human right abusers in the breakaway province of East Timor in 1999 would be tried in Indonesia instead of being extradited to the country's former province. Asked by Xinhua in a press conference after a closed door special meeting with the leadership of the House of Representatives (DPR), Darusman said that "we will carry out the trial in Indonesia, and those who are allegedly involved in human right abuse cases in East Timor will not be extradited to East Timor," adding that the government and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) have reached agreement on cooperation on the settlement of human right abuse cases there.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Akbar Tandjung said that the DPR agreed with the government in term of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Darusman and Chief of the UNTAET Sergio Vieira de Mello in April 2000 under which the two sides agreed to be cooperative based on the reciprocity principles in connection with the settlement of human right abuses cases in the former province.
Under the MoU, both sides also agreed to, among other things, afford to each other the widest possible measure of mutual assistance in investigations or court proceedings. The MoU also said the UNTAET and the government agreed to take evidences or statement from persons, assisting in the availability of detained persons, ensuring service of judicial documents, executing arrests, searches and seizures, facilitating transfer of persons, and ensuring participation of representatives of authorities in legal proceedings.
Darusman denied any suggestions that personnel of the UNTAET would questioned the wrongdoers and being involved in legal process in Indonesia. "It should be clarified that the UNTAET will not be involved in the legal process against those who are believed to have been implicated in human right abuse in East Timor. They only collected information by visiting Jakarta and attorney-general to get information about the case," Darusman said.
Protests have been mounting here in the wake of the signing of the MoU. Many parties at home suggested that the UNTAET has made interventions into legal process against the country's domestic affairs.
Tandjung said that Attorney General's Office has completed as many as 12 official reports on the questioning of the suspects in human rights violations in East Timor. There are 23 suspects in human rights violations cases in East Timor both from Indonesian military personnel and civilians.
Meanwhile, Darusman indicating that the human rights trial would began some time in January 2001. "The bill on human right trial has been signed by President Abdurrahman Wahid on 26 November. And it has been taking effect since then," he said.
