Alison Dellit
On January 16, the Washington Post reported that the US State Department had put half a dozen current and former Indonesian military officers on a "watch list", which will, in effect, prevent them from travelling to the US. The list included the notorious General Wiranto, and others who have been cited by the United Nations Serious Crimes Unit in East Timor for war crimes.
Wiranto has been preselected by Golkar, the party of former dictator Suharto, as its presidential candidate.
According to the Post, the decision is designed to "show disapproval" of Jakarta's refusal to prosecute those indicted. An ad hoc committee set up by the Indonesian authorities has refused to press the charges.
The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) has praised the State Department for the decision, but emphasised that this is a very preliminary step in the pursuit of justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in East Timor since Indonesia's 1975 invasion.
"The US can do much more to promote justice for the people of East Timor", said John Millar, spokesperson for ETAN. "The US must work with the UN Security Council to establish an international tribunal for East Timor. Only a tribunal would have the resources and political weight to properly try and punish those responsible for genocide and other grave crimes".
The US administration led by President George Bush has just increased its ties with the Indonesian military under the guise of "fighting terrorism".
But according to Millar, "the Bush administration must also cease all assistance for the Indonesian military, the institution most responsible for these crimes in East Timor".
ETAN is also calling on Bush to release US government documents requested nearly a year ago by East Timor's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation. "A full accounting of United States knowledge and actions during Indonesia's brutal occupation is an essential step towards justice and US accountability for the military and political support it gave Indonesia during the occupation", said Millar.
[For more information, visit <http://www.etan.org>.]
From Green Left Weekly, January 28, 2004.
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