|
|
News Reports on Statement from U.S. Religious
Leaders and Organizations:
An
International Tribunal Must Be Established for East Timor
East Timor: American religious leaders call for international
war crimes court
Washington, May 28 (Lusa) - Representatives of over 90 American religious
groups have called to the United States government to back the creation of
an international court to try the perpetrators of violence in East Timor.
The declaration, whose signatories are primarily Christian leaders, but who
also represent the Muslim and Jewish faiths, has been issued in response
to last week`s acquittal by a Jakarta court of Brig. Gen. Tono Suramatan
on 1999 war crimes charges in Timor.
The Indonesian ad-hoc court for Timor is a "sham" says the document, calling
to the US to actively work with its UN Security Council partners to approve
a resolution creating an international court for Timor.
"World powers must look at Timor's suffering again".
The American religious leaders also say that "the universality of human rights
is at stake".
"The Indonesian military committed endless atrocities in Timor, including
torture, rape, forced sterilization and murder", says the declaration, adding
that "justice cannot be denied in these horrendous crimes without there being
repercussions".
"Timor`s peace and the primacy of Indonesian law have already been seriously
compromised", say the religious leaders.
One of the signatories, Rev. John Chamberlin, said the multi- faith document
was an example of "faith in action", adding that in Timor's case "the crimes
are so well documented and the suffering so grand that it would be a thoughtless
act to not take a position".
JP/CJB -Lusa-
Page 1 - May 29, 2003
Timor Post (Bahasa Indonesian)
The New York Times
May 29, 2003, Thursday, Late Edition - Final
World Briefing Asia: East Timor: Call For U.N. Tribunal
More than 90 American religious leaders and organizations have
issued a
statement urging creation of an international tribunal under United Nations
auspices to try Indonesian military and police officials accused of human
rights
violations in East Timor. Indonesia has set up its own human rights court,
but
the religious leaders called that court, which so far has acquitted 12 of
17
defendants, a "sham." East Timor won its independence from Indonesia in 1999
after 24 years that included periods of ethnic and religious violence and
rights
abuses. - Laurie Goodstein (NYT)
ETAN: People of Faith
Call for International Tribunal for East Timor, Regardless of Indonesian
Court Verdicts
A Statement from U.S. Religious Leaders and Organizations:
An International
Tribunal Must Be Established for East Timor
see also ETAN's Religious
pages
see also ETAN's Justice and
Human Rights pages
Note: For those without a fax application on
their computer - CallCenter V3.5.8, is a Native 32-bit
Voice Telephony software application integrated with fax and data communications...
and it's free of charge! Download from http://www.v3inc.com/
|
|
