Indonesian generals must be brought to justice

Indonesian generals must be brought to justice

By Pip Hinman

Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) condemns the decision by the United Nations Security Council, under pressure from profit-hungry imperialist nations, to abandon plans to set up an international war crimes tribunal to try the Indonesian generals responsible for the carnage in East Timor following the August 1999 ballot on independence.

There is ample evidence of the Indonesian armed forces' role in training and backing the East Timorese militias but, despite the UN's own human rights inquiry stating that it had no faith in the Indonesian legal system, the generals will get away with murder — unless the international campaign to bring them to justice is stepped up.

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has said that if General Wiranto is found guilty in an Indonesian court he would most likely be pardoned. This reflects the Indonesian government's weakness, and its still considerable links with the military and former dictator Suharto's cronies.

The rich nations of the West are more interested in helping the Wahid government restructure Indonesia's economy to become more investment friendly than in bringing to justice a sector of the Indonesian ruling class that has terrorised and murdered people with impunity in its quest for profits and power.

ASIET calls on all democratically minded people to join in the campaign to try not only the Indonesian generals, but also Suharto and his cronies.

From GLW issue 395