Chapter 7 - Indonesian Politics and the Issue of Justice in East Timor

Summary

Introduction

Two and a half years have passed since an overwhelming majority of the East Timorese opted for separation from Indonesia at the United Nations (UN)-supervised ballot. East Timor is now preparing itself under the supervision of the UN to become an independent nation. Although not travelling an easy path, it has made steady progress towards establishing self-government.

In assessing the relations between Indonesia and East Timor, however, two crucial problems remain: the identification and punishment of individuals responsible for human rights violations in East Timor and the treatment of the East Timorese refugees still in West Timor. This chapter examines one of these two residual problems — specifically, the Indonesian Government's responses to domestic and international pressures to identify and punish those responsible for human rights violations that occurred prior to and immediately after the ballot. This chapter will have a special focus on the politics behind the two phases of the national investigation into the case, and briefly observe the preparation for the trials, which are still in progress.

The first phase of investigation was a preliminary inquiry (penyelidikan) conducted by the Commission of Inquiry for Human Rights Violations in East Timor (Komisi Penyelidikan Pelanggaran Hak Asasi Manusia di Timor Timur, KPP-HAM Timtim), which was formed by the Indonesian National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM). This was followed by an investigation (penyidikan) conducted by the Joint Investigation Team (Tim Penyidik Gabungan, TPG) formed by the Attorney General's Office (AGO). The preparation for the trials has involved many governmental actors, but the AGO, the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights are the main ones.

KPP-HAM's work gained high marks from the international community. Despite initial doubts, the commission showed integrity and independence as a team, finally issuing a groundbreaking report which included a list of names of the high-ranking military and police officers and their civilian backers considered responsible for gross human rights violations in East Timor. In contrast, the follow-up investigation by the AGO received little praise, either domestically or internationally.