From the Congressional Record

CONDEMNATION OF MURDER IN INDONESIA -- (Senate - June 20, 2001)

[Page: S6531] ---

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 67, S. Res. 91.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

A resolution (S. Res. 91) condemning the murder of a United States citizen and other civilians, and expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the failure of the Indonesian judicial system to hold accountable those responsible for the killings.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble, as follows:

Whereas on September 6, 2000, a paramilitary mob in the West Timor town of Atambua brutally killed 3 United Nations aid workers, including United States citizen Carlos Caceres, in an unprovoked attack;

Whereas Caceres, an attorney originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, whose family now resides in the State of Florida, had e-mailed a plea for help saying that ``the militias are on their way,'' and that ``we sit here like bait'' before he and the others were killed;

Whereas on May 4, 2001, an Indonesian court in Jakarta handed down only token sentences to the murderers of Carlos Caceres and the other United Nations workers, and failed to allot any punishment to the Indonesian military personnel alleged to have sanctioned this attack;

Whereas these token sentences were condemned as ``wholly unacceptable'' by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, and described by the Department of State as acts that ``call into question Indonesia's commitment to the principle of criminal accountability'';

Whereas the self-confessed killer of Carlos Caceres, a pro-government militia member named Julius Naisama, was sentenced to spend not more than 20 months in jail, and remarked afterwards, ``I accept the sentence with pride'';

Whereas the murders of Carlos Caceres and the other United Nations workers fit a pattern of killings perpetrated, sanctioned, or condoned by certain elements within the Indonesian military in Timor, both during and since the end of the Suharto regime;

Whereas, despite the stated intent of the Government of Indonesian to put into place a system of increased judicial accountability, since the initiation of democratic rule in Indonesia in 1998, no senior military official has been put on trial for human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, torture, or incitement to mob violence; and

Whereas the Government of Indonesia could probably have prevented both the murder of the United Nations workers and the subsequent miscarriage of justice if the government had--

(1) upheld its explicit commitment, made after the August, 1999, referendum in East Timor, to ensure that Indonesian military forces would safeguard United Nations workers and Timorese refugees from attacks by the paramilitary militias on the island who had killed approximately 1,000 East Timorese civilians in the preceding weeks;

(2) brought charges of murder or manslaughter against the 6 men who admitted to killing the United Nations workers, rather than only the lesser charge of conspiring to foment violence; and

(3) brought charges against senior military commanders who, according to the United Nations, the Department of State, and the Government of Indonesia itself, are suspected of arming and directing the paramilitary militias responsible for the carnage on Timor: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That (a) the Senate--

(1) condemns the brutal murder of Carlos Caceres, a United States citizen, and the other United Nations aid workers, and offers condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues;

(2) decries the inadequately disproportionate sentences handed down by the Indonesian court to the self-confessed killers of the United Nations aid workers;

(3) calls on the prosecutorial organs of the Government of Indonesia to indict and bring to trial the senior military commanders described in a September 1, 2000, statement by that government as suspects in the mass killings following the August, 1999, East Timor referendum.

(b) It is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) officials of the Department of State should, at every appropriate meeting with officials of the Government of Indonesia, stress the importance of ending the climate of impunity that shields those individuals, including senior members of the Indonesian military, suspected of perpetrating, collaborating in, or covering up extra-judicial killings and abuses of human rights in Indonesia; and

(2) the President should consider the willingness of the Government of Indonesia to make substantive progress in judicial reform, and in the criminal accountability of those responsible for human rights abuse on the island of Timor, among those factors taken into account when determining the level of financial support provided by the United States to Indonesia, whether directly or through international financial institutions.

SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the President.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I, along with my colleagues Senators FEINGOLD, HARKIN, and LEAHY, have introduced S. Res. 91, a resolution that condemns the brutal murder of Carlos Caceres, an American citizen, decries the inadequately disproportionate sentences given by the Indonesian judicial system to the self-confessed killers of the three U.N. aid workers, and offers condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Carlos Caceres and the other victims of the September 6 attack.

This resolution also expresses the sense of the Senate that:

(1) the officials at the U.S. Department of State should, at every appropriate meeting with officials of the Indonesian government, stress the importance of ending the climate of impunity which shields those individuals, including senior members of the Indonesian military, suspected of perpetrating, collaborating in, or covering up extrajudicial killings, and other abuses of human rights.

(2) the President should consider the willingness of the government of Indonesia to make rapid and substantive progress in judicial reform, and in the criminal accountability of those responsible for human rights abuses on the island of Timor, among those factors taken into account when determining the level of U.S. financial support provided to Indonesia, whether directly or through international financial institutions.

On September 6, 2000, a paramilitary mob killed three United Nations aid workers, including the United States citizen Carlos Caceres, in the West Timor town of Atambua. Mr. Caceres and the other victims were stabbed and hacked to death with exceptional brutality, and their bodies were then set on fire and dragged through the streets. Mr. Caceres previously had emailed a plea for help saying that ``The militias are on their way'' and that ``we sit here like bait.''

Several weeks ago, an Indonesian court in Jakarta meted out only token sentences to the murderers of Carlos Caceres and the other U.N. workers, and failed to allot any punishment whatsoever to the Indonesian military commanders alleged to have sanctioned this attack. In addition, the self-confessed killer of Carlos Caceres, a pro-government militia member was sentenced to spend no more than 20 months in jail, and remarked afterwards, ``I accept the sentence with pride.''

[Page: S6532]

The murders of Carlos Caceres and the other U.N. workers fit a pattern of killings perpetrated or sanctioned by the Indonesian military in Aceh, Irian Jaya, and other parts of the nation. Despite government promises of judicial accountability, since the initiation of democratic rule in Indonesia in 1998 no senior military official has yet been put on trial for human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, torture, or incitement of mob violence. I propose that the U.S. Senate go on record to stress the importance of ending the climate of impunity which shields those individuals--especially senior members of the Indonesian military--suspected of perpetrating, collaborating in, or covering up extrajudicial killings, torture, and other abuses of human rights. The Senate urges the President and Congress to make every effort to consider the need for reform when determining policy towards Indonesia.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendment be agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the RECORD.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The committee amendment was agreed to.

The resolution (S. Res. 91), as amended, was agreed to.

The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.

June Menu
May
World Leaders Contact List
Human Rights Violations in East Timor
Main Postings Menu