Indonesia and East Timor to Investigate Murders

Indonesia and East Timor have agreed to set up a truth and friendship commission to address the issues of 1,500 murders and thousands of other human rights violations committed during the 1999 independence referendum in East Timor.

Jakarta hopes the commission will encourage the UN to abandon its plan for a panel of experts to assess what the two countries have done to prosecute those involved in the atrocities. Only 20 people in Indonesia have been prosecuted and not one member of the military, the police or the then civilian administration has had a conviction upheld for his or her individual role in the carnage.

This is in spite of the murders, destruction and the forced relocation of 275,000 people throughout the months of 1999 during which Indonesia still controlled the former Portuguese colony it invaded in 1975.

East Timor has indicted almost 400 people. More than 90 have been tried, while most of the rest, including many serving and retired generals, are living comfortably in Indonesia, which has no intention of handing them over for prosecution.

Hassan Wirajuda, Indonesia's foreign minister, and his East Timorese counterpart, Jose Ramos-Horta, announced the commission after meeting Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, in New York.

Mr Ramos-Horta described the initiative as "historic" and said it would "shed truth on the events of the past".

The commission's framework and mechanisms are expected to take several weeks to finalise.

Mr Wirajuda did not conceal Jakarta's motive for pushing for the commission. "[It] is meant as an alternative to the idea of establishing the commission of experts," he said.

Mr Annan has yet to confirm whether he will still appoint the experts but UN sources believe he will not be deterred.

"It is an interesting concept but the UN has direct responsibilities and obligations to the East Timorese people, the victims of the violence," a UN official told the Guardian.

Human rights activists and several countries, including the US, are lobbying for the commission of experts. John Danforth, the US ambassador to the UN, last month urged Mr Annan to appoint the panel and earlier this week the International Federation for East Timor - which has 34 member groups from 23 countries - wrote to Mr Annan with a similar plea.

Activists in East Timor said there was little support for the government's approach.

"This is a friendship commission, it's not going to satisfy the need for justice," said one activist, Joaquim Fonseca.