Indonesia and East Timor Cooperate To Find Missing Persons

Tuesday, 26 January, 2010 | 15:33 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The National Human Rights Commission signed a cooperation agreement with East Timor's Human Rights and Justice Ombudsman in Jakarta on Tuesday (26/1) to find missing persons during the post referendum riot in 1999.

Chairman of Indonesia's human rights commission Ifdhal Kasim said the agreement was made as both countries have not set up a commission for the missing persons recommended by the truth and reconciliation commission in its 2005 report of human rights violations by both Indonesia and East Timor.

Ifdhal stressed that the Indonesian bears a larger responsibility to restore and provide compaensation for the victims of the post referendum riot, one of the forms is pension rights for East Timorese who once served in Indonesian army, police and public offices.

Head of the East Timor ombudsman Sebastiao Diaz Ximenes welcomed the agreement but acknowledged that they also do not own a list of missing persons. Ximenes dismissed presumed foreign pressures in the inquiry despite its dependence on foreign donors, saying "we have enough source for our budget so we don't have to afraid of foreign countries."

FAISAL ASSEGAF

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