Timor Bishop opposes war crimes deal
Dili (AsiaNews/Agencies) - East Timor's new Catholic Bishop has opposed a deal between Timorese and Indonesian leaders to drop trials over atrocities during the country's 1999 independence process.
"The position of the church is the same, it's clear and firm. We need justice, justice must be done," Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva said. Bishop da Silva took over as Bishop of Dili - an influential position in the largely Catholic country - last year, replacing Nobel peace laureate Carlos Ximenes Belo.
Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Timorese counterpart Xanana Gusmao agreed in Jakarta last month to form a Truth and Friendship Commission to deal with crimes during Indonesia's scorched earth withdrawal six years ago.
Militia gangs directed by Indonesian Army officers killed around 1,500 independence supporters, laid waste to much of the infrastructure and forcibly deported 250,000 people after a UN-supervised poll, which returned an overwhelming independence vote.
Timorese and Indonesian leaders agreed to drop trials over atrocities during the country's 1999 independence process, saying it lacks public support. Bishop da Silva asserts that 'all' Timorese people supported war crimes trials. The Special Crimes Unit jailed 74 Timorese culprits, but was powerless to extradite Indonesian commanders: more than 300 people wanted for trial have sanctuary in Indonesia.
Indonesian and Timorese Foreign ministers are due to meet in Bali on Tuesday to hammer out details of the proposed commission.
The United Nations has refused to endorse the deal, proposing instead a Commission of Experts to assess why a 1999 Security Council resolution to try those accused of war crimes has failed.
"What Kofi Annan says or not, what Timorese leaders want or not, there has to be justice" Bishop da Silva says. He argues the Timorese church would not actively petition the United Nations on the issue, "but our door is always open". "It's nothing new, it's always been the church's position on justice and peace".
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