The Jakarta Post

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

CTF delays report until Horta recovers

The joint Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) said it would delay the submission of its final report on rights violations to the Indonesian and Timor Leste presidents following the recent attempt on the latter's life.

The report will be submitted once the Timor Leste president has completely recovered from injuries sustained during the assassination attempt by renegade Timor Leste soldiers.

"As we all know, President Ramos Horta will still need some time to recover from his injuries. In the meantime, we will perfect the final report by fixing any editorial mistakes here and there," the Indonesian chairman of the commission, Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, said over the weekend.

Mangkoedilaga, a former Supreme Court judge, said the 370-page report comprised the commission's findings and conclusions on violence in the then province of East Timor following the United Nations-sponsored independence vote in 1999.

He said the commission planned to translate the report into English and Portuguese after it was read by the two presidents.

Established in 2005 and made up of officials of both countries, the CTF was slated to make its final report on March 31 to both the Indonesia and Timor Leste presidents in conjunction with the expiration of its mandate.

A Nobel Peace laureate, Ramos Horta was shot by renegade soldiers loyal to Maj. Alfredo Reinado on the morning of Feb. 2. Reinado was killed in the ensuing gunfight, and Horta was later flown to a hospital in Darwin, Australia, where he underwent a series of critical surgeries. -- JP/Dicky Christanto