Assigning blame for the East Timor carnage–and the recent deaths of three U.N. workers in West Timor–is a tricky issue for Jakarta. Reason: the Indonesian military funded and trained the militias responsible for the crimes. Many Indonesians do not think what happened in East Timor was a big deal, given the country’s violent history, and there’s been no public outcry for a trial. If there is one, it could prove hugely embarrassing. For while Guterres sat defiantly in his cell last week, 40 other militia leaders in West Timor, led by Cancio Lopez de Carvalho, offered to spill the beans. In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, they vowed not only to disarm but also to present evidence implicating the previous Indonesian government in their atrocities. In exchange, the militiamen want U.N. protection from the current government, which they claim is trying to kill them. “We have been used by the Indonesian government as their tools, but now they feel the militiamen are a cancer that needs to be cut off,” de Carvalho told NEWSWEEK. He claimed that former president B. J. Habibie and former armed-forces chief General Wiranto secretly flew to Dili, the East Timor capital, before the election and ordered militia leaders to destroy East Timor if its people voted for independence.
Habibie’s office rejected the charges, releasing an appointment book placing him in Jakarta at the time of the alleged meeting. “He has never been to East Timor,” a former aide said. Habibie, he added, was the president who offered to hold the referendum in East Timor after taking office in 1998. The armed forces also denied involvement. Military officials cited two militiamen who flew to Jakarta from East Timor to denounce the militia letter writers as liars.
Amid the accusations, the loose coalition of thugs that terrorized Timor is now deeply split. Guterres has perhaps the most to lose if the militiamen cooperate with investigators. In the months before the referendum, Guterres is alleged to have incited his followers to commit massacres. Guterres also vowed publicly to turn East Timor into a “sea of fire” if voters chose independence. Guterres and his men followed through on the threat, according to, among others, East Timorese witnesses and a state-appointed Commission of Inquiry. United Nations staffers in West Timor, among others, suspect Guterres was also involved in the U.N. workers’ deaths. After the killings, foreign donors threatened to withhold economic aid to Jakarta if it did not disarm the militias.
The slow pace of the government’s investigation has put Attorney General Marzuki Darusman on the spot. U.S. officials say they may push for a U.N. tribunal if Indonesia fails to take action. But Darusman says preparation for any trial will take time. “I think there is so much information suddenly coming in that we need to verify it before thinking about using it,” he says. Darusman, who is close to some in the military, said Parliament must also pass legislation creating a tribunal to hear the cases. Legislators do not adjourn until December, but it’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll take up such sensitive legislation by then. Justice is never simple in Indonesia, where court decisions are often influenced by politics. With members of the military facing the dock, this will be a tough test.
