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by AFP, January 21, 2006
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The more than 2,000-page report, compiled by the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (Cavr), established that at least 102,800 Timorese, roughly 10 per cent of the territory's current population, died as a result of the Indonesian occupation...The Indonesian security forces 'consciously decided to use starvation of East Timorese civilians as a weapon of war', it said. |
East Timor sends report of Indonesian atrocities to the UN
UNITED NATIONS - East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao on Friday presented UN Chief Kofi Annan with a long-awaited report documenting atrocities committed in his country under Indonesia's 24-year occupation. The more than 2,000-page report, compiled by the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (Cavr), established that at least 102,800 Timorese, roughly 10 per cent of the territory's current population, died as a result of the Indonesian occupation.
It was the fruit of more than three years of intensive work during which more than 7,000 victims testified on human rights violations committed in East Timor between April 1974 and October 1999.
Speaking to reporters after his talks with Mr Annan, Mr Gusmao said the main objective of the report was to establish the truth of what happened and to ensure that the international community act so that it does not happen again. 'We don't want punitive justice'
'We accept the results of the report as a way to heal the wounds,' he said. 'The figures (of casualties) can be disputed. But it is not so important to look at the figures. It is more important to look at the lessons.'
'We don't advocate punitive justice but restorative justice,' he said, citing as a model South Africa, where a Truth and Reconciliation Commission exposed the brutal excesses of apartheid and for the first time gave mainly black victims a voice.
The US-based East Timor and Indonesian Action Network urged the UN to publicise and discuss the findings in a bid to prevent a repeat of what happened in East Timor elsewhere and help find justice for the victims.
'Starvation used as weapon of war'
The report blamed the deaths, most of them due to hunger and illness, on the policies of Indonesia's military towards East Timor's civilian population.
The Indonesian security forces 'consciously decided to use starvation of East Timorese civilians as a weapon of war', it said.
The commission had submitted its report to the East Timorese government months ago, but Mr Gusmao kept it secret until now for fear of irritating Indonesia, its powerful neighbour. -- AFP
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