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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
EAST TIMOR
Who is to Blame?
Statement Before the UN Special Committee on Decolonization
- July 1994. AI Index ASA 21/31/94
Introductory statement already posted:
Deatailed case studies and appendices presented here:
1. Torture and Ill-treatment
In the 12 months since Amnesty International last addressed this
Committee the organization has received reports of scores of East
Timorese tortured or ill-treated by Indonesian security forces. As
in previous years, the forms of torture described include
electrocution, beating, death threats, faked executions, rape and
other kinds of sexual abuse. Taken together, this information
confirms Amnesty International's assessment, expressed
consistently before this Committee since 1990, that short-term
detention, ill-treatment and torture are used systemati-cally in
East Timor to intimidate even peaceful opponents of Indonesian
rule, and to obtain political and military intelligence. More
worrying still, many of those detained and subjected to torture or
ill-treatment in the past year have been people trying peacefully
to gather or to disseminate human rights information.
In November 1991 the UN Special Rapporteur on torture
visited Indonesia and East Timor. His report, published in early
1992, concluded that torture was commonplace and offered eleven
concrete recommendations for its prevention. Nearly three years
later, the government had begun to implement only one of those
recommendations, with the establish-ment of the National Human
Rights Commission. The government's failure to act means that the
root causes of torture have yet to be addressed. As the cases
described in this report indicate, the consequence of inaction is
that the practice of torture continues, and would seem destined to
continue in the foreseeable future.
Case Study: Salvador Sarmento
Indonesian military authorities have identified the
Catholic church as a focal point of resistance in East Timor, and
some of its more vulnerable members have increasingly been the
target of ill-treatment and torture. In February 1994, Amnesty
International reported the arrest and alleged torture of a young
Catholic seminarian named Salvador Sarmento. Since then the
organization has obtained detailed testimony of the circumstances
leading to his arrest, the treatment he suffered, the identities
of some of the perpetrators, and the conditions of his release.
Salvador Sarmento, a student at the Institut Pastoral
Indonesia (IPI), was arrested in Dili by military intelligence
officers shortly after 12 noon on 3 January 1994 as he walked
toward home with a friend, Matias Soares. The two young men were
forced into a military vehicle and driven to the headquarters of
the military intelligence unit (Satuan Tugas Intelijen - SGI) of
the Sub-Regional Military Command for East Timor (KOREM 164/Wira
Dharma), in the Colmera district of Dili. Matias Soares was
released the same day after questioning, but Salvador was held
without charge for five days before being conditionally released
on the evening of 7 January.
During that time he was repeatedly beaten, given electric
shocks, threatened with a handgun and subjected to mock executions
by soldiers. When he was not under interrogation, Salvador was
held in a cell, sometimes naked, and with his hands shackled. The
detention and beating took place with the full knowledge and
acquiescence of the SGI Commander, an army Lieutenant Colonel
whose name is known to Amnesty International.
During the initial interrogation, which lasted from 1pm
until 5.30pm on 3 January, Salvador Sarmento's military
interrogators did not use force. However, when the interrogation
resumed at 10pm that evening he was made to strip naked and was
tortured in various ways while being questioned by six soldiers.
In the course of interrogation, the soldiers held a pistol to
Salvador's head and chest and threatened to kill him and dispose
of his body.
As they beat and kicked me I said 'please just kill me
rather than torturing me like this. In the name of truth I
am prepared to die.' Then they said - 'If you really want to
die we can easily arrange for your corpse to disappear.' Then
they ordered me to pray, and so I prayed: 'Oh God please receive
my soul and forgive them for what they do'. As I prayed one
of them said 'Let's just shoot him and throw his body into
the sea.' When I had finished praying they did not shoot,
but they threatened me twice more with a pistol. They held it to
my head and to my chest so that I would confess...
Later they attached wires to Salvador's thumbs and applied
electric current causing him to scream and his body to convulse.
Following electrocution, the soldiers continued to beat him until
he lost consciousness. He was revived but the interrogation
continued until 3am.
The next morning, Salvador's face was bruised and swollen,
making it difficult for him to eat. However, later that evening
and the following day the interrogation continued and he was again
subjected to beatings and death threats. On 5 January, unable to
face further abuse, and afraid for his life, Salvador gave the
"confession" the military had been seeking. Nevertheless, he was
held for a further two days, during which time medication was
applied to his face to reduce the extreme swelling caused by
beating.
The substance of the confession and other information sought
by military intelligence revealed the nature of official
repression in East Timor in an era of ostensible "openness". The
interrogators alleged that Salvador Sarmento had led one or more
"clandestine meetings" in the parish of Ossu, Viqueque, in late
December 1993, at which plans had been made to organize a peaceful
demonstration on the occasion of a visit by Australian Bishop
Hilton Deakin in March 1994. Military intelligence authorities
also sought to obtain information about the political views and
activities of key figures of the Catholic clergy in East Timor,
including the parish priest of Ossu, Father Sancho Amaral, and
Bishop Belo.
Having secured this information from Salvador Sarmento under
duress, the military then forced him to sign an affidavit as a
condition for release. In the affidavit, dated 7 January, he
admitted to committing acts "prohibited by Indonesian law", and
promised never to repeat them on pain of punishment. The statement
said that he had been involved in "clandestine" activities but,
significantly, it did not specify what law had been broken.
The affidavit, and a letter of clarification issued on the
same day by the SGI Com-mander, appeared to be aimed in part at
protecting the security forces from any legal or political
culpability for Salvador's arbitrary arrest and torture. The
Commander's letter declared that Salvador Sarmento was being
"returned to his family in a healthy condition" while the
affidavit stated, falsely, that his confession had been made
"...while in a fit mental and physical state, without pressure
from any party whatsoever." Just prior to his release, Salvador
Sarmento was taken aside by a military intelligence officer and
warned not to tell anyone that he had been tortured.
Case Study: Benevides Correia Barros
Amnesty International has also received detailed
information about an East Timorese university student, Benevides
Correia Barros, who was detained and reportedly tortured by
Indonesian soldiers during a visit home from Central Java in
September 1993. Benevides had been detained for his role in
non-violent demonstrations against the Santa Cruz massacre in late
1991, but the main reason for his arrest and torture on this
occasion appears to have been his efforts to obtain photographic
evidence of the consequences of military occupation, in the
District of Bobonaro, East Timor.
Benevides was first abducted by military personnel while
waiting for a bus in the town of Ainaro on 31 August 1993. He was
taken immediately to the District Military Command (KODIM- Ainaro)
where he was forced to undress, and then interrogated for five
hours about his political opinions and activities. His
interrogators threatened him, saying: "If you want to live, tell
us what you know, what you have heard, what you do and how your
network operates." He was released without charge at about 10 am
the following day, after the intervention of a relative who was a
soldier there. However that was not the end of his ordeal. On 13
September he and a friend, Francisco Almeida Godinha, were
arrested by two soldiers in the sub- district of Gailaco, near the
town of Maliana, in Bobonara District, where they had been taking
photographs of social and economic conditions. Describing their
arrest and torture by three soldiers - a Sergeant, a Private and a
Corporal of the KORAMIL, whose names are known to Amnesty
International - Benevides wrote:
They ordered us to lie down by the side of the road, tied
our hands up and one of them threatened to execute us there
and then.... After about half an hour a platoon of ten
soldiers arrived with the KORAMIL Commander who took over
the interrogation.... They frog-marched us to a small hut near the
side of the road, stripped us naked and started beating us
for about an hour, hitting our heads, chests, genitals, kidneys,
thighs and knees. Soon our noses, mouths and ears were
bleeding.... We were pushed into a vehicle and driven to the
KODIM in Maliana, where we were beaten while being questioned
about taking photos... They tried to make us admit that we
intended to use the photos to discredit Indonesia in the
eyes of the international community....Our hands were tied
up, we were forced to stand facing the wall and they beat us,
kicked
us with their jack-boots and banged our heads against the
wall...After five hours, my friend Francisco was put into a
cell and I was driven...to a place about two kilometres from
the KODIM. When we arrived, I was pushed out of the car
still handcuffed, ordered to kneel down and start praying in
prepara- tion for being executed. This happened three times,
after which they pushed me back into the car and took me
back to the KODIM. We were held there for three days, from
13 to 16 September, without food or water.
Relatives who came to the KODIM-Maliana on 17 September to
visit Benevides and to bring him food and fresh clothing, were
prevented from seeing him. On 26 September, at about 2pm, he and
Francisco were moved from KODIM-Maliana to the Sub- Regional
Military Command (KOREM 164/Wira Dharma) headquarters in Dili. At
about 6pm the same day they were transferred to the headquarters
of military intelligence (SGI) in the Colmera district of Dili,
where they were interrogated for a further five days.
Their relatives were not informed of the transfer.
Benevides' father eventually learned that he had been moved to
Dili, but when he arrived in the city he was unable to find his
son. One of Benevides' sisters looked for him at the different
military and police detention centres in Dili but was unable to
locate him. The military authorities were keeping his whereabouts
a secret; he had "disappeared". Several days later Benevides'
relatives obtained a note from the local assembly (DPRD) asking
the military authorities to permit them to visit him wherever he
was. They were finally able to see Benevides on the morning of 1
October; he and Francisco were released shortly thereafter.
Following standard procedure in such cases, their release
was subject to several conditions. First they were taken, with
their families, to receive "political guidance" from the KOREM
Commander and the Governor of East Timor. They were then made to
sign affidavits promising not to repeat their "crimes". A letter
of clarification from the SGI Commander specified that they were
obliged to report daily to SGI headquarters, and that their
families must assume responsibility if they engaged in any
political activities. Finally, they were warned not to inform
international human rights organizations about their treatment in
military custody.
Case Study: Amarao dos Santos
Those who come to the defence of victims of human rights
abuse in East Timor sometimes become victims themselves. Amarao
dos Santos, the village head of Haupu, in the sub- district of
Letefoho, Ermera, was reportedly badly beaten by military officers
in January 1994 after he submitted a report to government
authorities about the ill-treatment of another villager by
military officers. The villager whose case he had reported,
Domingos Sama Lelo, had been beaten by a military officer in the
home of a local government official on 27 December 1993. Three
weeks later Domingos was still in hospital recovering from his
injuries.
On 11 January, several days after submitting his report,
Amarao dos Santos was summoned to the District Military Command in
Ermera (KODIM-Ermera). There he was beaten by soldiers before
being transferred to Dili under the authority of the KODIM
Commander. His wife, who saw him briefly on 12 January before he
was transferred, said that his face was covered with bruises. She
reported the information to the police in Ermera (POLRES Ermera)
but was told that her husband would be safe in the hands of the
KODIM Commander. When asked about the reported ill-treatment the
following day (13 January), the Sub-Regional Military (KOREM
164/Wira Dharma) Commander for East Timor (Colonel Lumintang) said
that he had not received a report on the case.
Case Study: "Isabel"
Amnesty International has continued to receive reports
of the sexual molestation and rape of East Timorese women by
military forces in the past year. Many of the victims have been
young women living in remote rural areas where combat troops
continue to conduct counter-insurgency operations. Yet even women
detained by military authorities in Dili and other towns are
vulnerable to such treatment. The practice of short- term
arbitrary detention, and denial of access to relatives and
lawyers, inevitably increases the risk of rape.
One young woman, shot during the Santa Cruz massacre, has
described how she was molested and harassed by soldiers while
recovering in the military hospital in Dili. On the night of 13
November, one day after being admitted to hospital with five
bullet wounds, she said that two soldiers came to her bed, cut off
all her clothes with scissors, and began to touch her body. She
was unable to move due to her wounds, and so simply closed her
eyes so that she would not see their faces. Several days later,
after her wounds had begun to heal but while still in military
hospital, she was taken for questioning. One of her military
interroga-tors reportedly told her that he would come to her room
to sleep with her. At the time she was staying in a room with only
one other woman. That night, she awoke to find the same man
touching her breasts and other parts of her body. When she tried
to run from the room, the man grabbed her and continued to molest
her. Asked how her experience had affected her, she said:
If men are hurt they can recover and forget what happened
but for women, if they are raped or tortured, they cannot
forget. Their life is destroyed forever.
2. Political Imprisonment and Unfair Trials
In the year since Amnesty International last addressed this
Committee, hundreds of East Timorese political suspects have been
arbitrarily detained by Indonesian military authorities for
periods ranging from a few hours to several months. The vast
majority have been held without charge or trial. At least nine
have been tried for their non-violent political activities, while
seventeen others continue to serve lengthy sentences imposed in
previous years.
Indonesian Government and military authorities have stated
that those held have not been "arrested" but simply summoned for
"questioning". They have also maintained that those forced to
undergo "political guidance" are not under arrest. However, such
nuances cannot obscure the plain and continuing reality of routine
political imprisonment in East Timor. The failure to charge or try
suspects, or the decision to send them on "guidance" courses
rather than to conventional jails, does not alter the fact that
those suspects have been arbitrarily deprived of their liberty
because of their political or human rights related activities.
Military authorities in East Timor have virtually absolute
authority to detain suspects, to send them for political
education, or to impose conditions on their release. This power
is wielded independently of the judiciary or of the police who,
under Indonesian law, have sole authority to arrest criminal
suspects. The danger inherent in this extralegal power is
com-pounded by the fact that, before being charged or tried,
political detainees are usually held in military detention centres
not readily accessible to relatives or lawyers. Even the
Interna-tional Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has gained
improved access to tried East Timorese prisoners within the past
year, still faces serious obstacles in visiting those detained or
sent on "guidance" courses by military authorities. Apart from
breaching both international and Indonesian law, the lack of
access to untried detainees dramatically increases the dangers of
torture and ill-treatment described above.
In addition to the hundreds of political suspects detained
without charge or trial, some 26 East Timorese are currently
serving sentences of up to life imprisonment, imposed after unfair
political trials since 1984. The majority of those currently
jailed were sentenced in 1992, accused of organizing and taking
part in the peaceful pro-independence procession to the Santa Cruz
cemetery on 12 November or the peaceful demonstration in Jakarta
one week later. Information received by Amnesty International
within the past year confirms earlier assessments that the trials
and appeals of these political prisoners were not conducted in
accordance with international standards of fairness, and that some
tried prisoners have been ill-treated in custody (see Case Study
below).
The imprisonment of real or alleged political opponents has
continued unabated in the past year. At least nine other East
Timorese have been tried and sentenced since mid-1993 for their
non-violent political activities. Most recently, in June 1994,
five young men were brought to trial for staging a brief and
entirely peaceful pro-independence demonstration during a visit to
East Timor by foreign journalists in April 1994. As of early July
four of the five - Pantaleao Amaral, Miguel de Deus, Isaac Soares
and Rosalino dos Santos - had been convicted and sentenced to 20
months imprisonment each (see Case Study below).
Other political prisoners convicted during the past year
included a civil servant, Pedro Sarmento da Costa, sentenced to
one year in prison in September 1993 for writing a demand on a
10,000 rupiah bank-note that compensation be paid to the victims
of the Santa Cruz massacre. Another man, Alberto Rodrigues Pereira
was sentenced to 22 months in Decem-ber 1993 for destroying an
Indonesian flag. A police officer, Corporal Agusto Pereira, was
sentenced to 18 months in prison and dismissed from the armed
forces by a military court in February 1994 for giving sanctuary
to East Timorese resistance leader, Xanana Gusmao, for three years
prior to his capture in November 1992. Two more East Timorese were
reportedly sentenced to prison terms of three years each in June
1994 for raising the Fretilin flag on 17 July 1993, as a peaceful
act of protest against Indonesian rule.
Case Study: Peaceful Protesters Detained and Tried, May 1994
Twelve East Timorese were detained by Indonesian military
forces in May 1994 in connection with their non- violent political
activities. They included Jose Antonio Neves arrested by military
intelligence officers in Malang, East Java, and eleven others
detained in Dili in the preceding weeks. Four of them had been
tried and sentenced by early July and were prisoners of
conscience.
A leading member of the clandestine pro-independence East
Timorese movement, and a student at a theological institute in
Malang, East Java, Jose Antonio Neves was arrested by military
intelligence authorities at the main post office in Malang on 19
May 1994 and taken to a safehouse of the military's intelligence
unit (SGI). He was subsequently transferred into police custody
(POLRES Malang). Another student, Antonio Soares, was reportedly
detained in Malang later the same day and held briefly for
questioning before being released without charge.
Colleagues said that Jose Neves had recently returned from
East Timor where he had been gathering information about human
rights violations and political developments, and that on his
return to Malang he had hoped to make this available to the
international community. One source said that at the time of his
arrest he was carrying a letter from the current leader of the
guerilla resistance, Konis Santana. The letter was to be read out
at a conference on East Timor which took place in Manila in early
June.
Most or all of the eleven detained in Dili had taken part in
a peaceful pro-indepen-dence protest in front of the Mahkota Hotel
in Dili during a visit to East Timor by foreign journalists in
April 1994. They were: Nuno de Andrade Sarmento Corvelho, and
Anibal of Santa Cruz, Dili; Rui Fernandes, of Bemori, Dili;
Octaviano, Pedro Fatima Tilman, Pantaleao Amaral, Miguel de Deus,
Rosalino dos Santos, and Marcos, all of Kuluhun, Dili; Lucas
Tilman dos Santos, of Bairro-Pite; and Isaac Soares of Dili. They
were taken to military intelligence (SGI) headquarters in Dili
where they were interrogated about their political activities.
Some were released without charge, but on 23 May a military
spokesperson in Dili said that six of the eleven had been
"detained for questioning" and that they might be brought to court
if there was enough evidence against them.
In late June three of those detained - Pantaleao Amaral,
Miguel de Deus and Isaac Soares - were tried at Dili District
Court, and sentenced to 20 months imprisonment each for expressing
opposition to the government. According to reports, none of the
three were accompanied by legal counsel, either during
interrogation or during their trial. A spokesman for the court
told the press that the three were found guilty of "expressing
anti-Indonesia sentiments in front of the public on April 14". Two
others were due to be brought to trial on 21 or 22 June. One of
them, Rosalino dos Santos, was sentenced to 20 months in jail in
early July 1994 on similar charges.
Case Study: Unfair Political Trials and Ill-treatment
Addressing this Committee last year, Amnesty
International expressed particular concern at allegations that the
authorities had obstructed the efforts of several East Timorese
prisoners of conscience to file appeals against their sentences
before the High Court. A letter received from the prison in late
1993 confirms that, for a period or five months during and after
the trials, officials did impede some prisoners' efforts to lodge
appeals:
During this time, newspapers, official documents etc.,were
not allowed in; nor were the pens and papers which prisoners
needed to work on their appeal to the High Court...This
prohibition led to the rejection of the prisoners' appeals
on the grounds of failure to present an appeal in accordance with
the Penal Code. On another occasion all documents relating
to the legal proceedings were confiscated, including the written
sentence of the District Court of Dili, and drafts of the
appeal to the Court...Any attempt to contact relatives was
expressly forbidden for five months, including relatives of
prisoners who were seriously ill.
Amnesty International also expressed concern last year for
the safety of Saturnino da Costa Belo, a prisoner of conscience
who had shouted pro-independence slogans during the trial of
Xanana Gusmao in March 1993. Recent information confirms earlier
fears that he was subjected to threats and ill-treatment in
retaliation for his remarks. According to the letter from prison
cited above:
Because of the demand he made to the Indonesian Government
while at the court to respect human rights in East Timor he
was severely beaten and interrogated by the military police.
They threatened him by placing the barrel
of a pistol in his ear and he was put in a cell and left
there in total dark- ness...Since he continued to refuse to
apologise to the judge and did not admit to any wrongdoing,
he was never again brought to the court as a witness on the
grounds that he was ill, when in fact he was not ill at all.
Cases Study: "Political Guidance" and Detention without
Trial
At least fifty and possibly many more East Timorese were
detained prior to and during the visit to East Timor of a
delegation of US Congressional aides in September 1993. Many of
those detained were reportedly taken to the interior where they
were enroled in "political guidance" courses for about one month
before being released without charge. During the period of
detention they were denied access to relatives and to the ICRC. As
a condition for release, they were required to promise not to
engage in the "crime" of pro-independence political activity, and
to swear an oath of allegiance to the Indonesian Govern-ment.
In early 1994 Amnesty International received a list of 74
people said to have been undergoing "political guidance" courses
under military supervision in September 1993. One of those named
was Jose Manuel da Silva Fernandes who had been arrested on at
least two previous occasions since October 1989. Addressing this
Committee in August 1991, Amnesty International expressed concern
that he had "disappeared" after his arrest in November 1990. In
April of this year, the organization learned that he was in
military custody in Viqueque. He is not known to have been tried.
Further arrests were carried out in the weeks prior to a
scheduled visit by Australian Bishop Hilton Deakin in March 1994.
After learning of the arrests and other repressive measures Bishop
Deakin cancelled his visit. Most of those detained were
subsequently released without charge, but again on the condition
that they would not repeat their "crime".
3. Extrajudicial Execution and "Disappearance"
It is nearly three years since Indonesian security forces opened
fire on a crowd of peaceful pro-independence protesters in the
Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, killing an estimated 270 people, and
precipitating the "disappearance" of some 200 others. The massacre
and its aftermath continue to be of critical significance in any
assessment of the current human rights situation in East Timor for
at least three reasons.
First, new evidence has emerged suggesting that, in addition
to those shot or stabbed at the cemetery, some protesters may have
been killed subsequently while in military custody. Second, the
government has yet to account adequately for the fate of the dead
and the "disappeared". Finally, the government has failed to
address the evident injustice of sentenc-ing peaceful protesters
to terms of up to life imprisonment while allowing the
perpetrators of the massacre to walk free after 18 months or
less.
The "Second Massacre"
Evidence brought to light in the past six months
suggests that a number of those wounded during the massacre and
taken to the military hospital in Dili were ill-treated or
deliberately killed. One eyewitness has testified that some of the
wounded at the hospital were hit with large rocks or crushed by
military vehicles as they lay on the ground, and that others were
given poison pills and lethal injections. Addressing the UN
Commission on Human Rights in March 1994, an employee at the
military hospital in Dili, Joao Antonio Dias, described the scene
there shortly after the massacre:
" The trucks kept arriving with more bodies. They drove right
over the ones that were on the ground. Some of the wounded
gesticulated, moving their arms and legs to show that they were
still alive, but the trucks did not stop...The military were
looking for a quick way to get rid of the bodies and the
survivors...They went to the storeroom...took jars of pills, and
started giving two pills and a glass of water to each wounded
person. After taking these pills, the wounded started to lose
their strength and their breathing became weaker... After a
while, the soldiers returned to check whether they were dead. They
killed anyone who was still alive by crushing their skulls with
huge stones.
Testimony about the behaviour of soldiers during and shortly
after the massacre lends credence to claims that some survivors
were deliberately killed. A young man named "Jos" (not his real
name), who was wounded in the massacre, told Amnesty International
how four soldiers beat him on the head and chest with the butts of
their automatic weapons after he had been felled by a bullet near
the entrance to the cemetery. As he lay on the ground he could
also see soldiers assaulting his friend Simplicio de Deus. He said
the soldiers cut one of Simplicio's ears off and slashed the other
deeply with a knife. About 15 minutes later, both "Jos" and
Simplicio were thrown on to the back of a military truck together
with dozens of others. Most were already dead and the floor of the
truck was wet with blood. "Jos" told Amnesty International that,
while in the truck, he saw soldiers use bayonets to stab at least
one person who was still alive.
Allegations that civilians were deliberately killed or
"disappeared" after the massacre have been corroborated by other
reliable sources, including the Catholic Bishop of East Timor, Dom
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. Speaking in April 1994, Bishop Belo
said:
" I cannot tell you how many people were involved but,
naturally, there were people who disappeared following the
shooting, the massacre. I know what happened at 2000 hours [on 12
November 1991] - because four people were killed with sticks near
my house at around 2300 hours. Then, those young people I saw at
the cemetery's chapel at 2300 hours, I went to look for them the
following day at the hospital and they were not there. "
Information from government sources also lends support to
claims that some of those detained or hospitalized after the
massacre were deliberately finished off. An official government
list of 84 people said to have died or "disappeared" after the
massacre includes the names of at least 14 people reported by
independent sources to have been detained (9) or hospitalized (5).
This suggests that at least 14 people may have been killed in
custody, though the true figure could be higher.
Due to restrictions on access to the territory, Amnesty
International has not been able to verify independently all of the
claims recently made concerning a "second massacre". However, it
notes that the allegation of deliberate killings in the days and
weeks after the massacre is consistent with information previously
reported by the organization. Moreover, in view of the fact that
the ICRC, relatives, and the UN Special Rapporteur on torture were
all denied access to those detained or hospitalized, and given the
long-standing pattern of ill-treatment and torture of political
suspects in Indonesian military custody, the organization believes
that these allegations are credible and ought to be investigated
promptly and impartially.
Impunity and the Fate of the Victims
Important as it is to establish the precise numbers of
people killed, and the circum-stances in which they died, Amnesty
International is concerned about two equally important issues: the
need to bring the perpetrators to justice, and the need to
identify the dead and reveal the whereabouts of their remains. In
Amnesty International's view, the government has failed utterly to
address these issues in an adequate way.
While 13 civilians involved in peaceful protest during and
after the Santa Cruz massacre were sentenced to terms of up to
life imprisonment in 1992, the ten police and military officers
tried in connection with these events received sentences ranging
from just eight to 18 months for disciplinary offences. Despite
substantial evidence of deliberate killing and torture, none of
those tried was charged with murder and only one was charged with
assault. Moreover, the higher ranking military officers, who were
ultimately responsible for the actions of their troops, have not
been brought to justice and there has been no indication that they
will be.
The extreme disparity in the treatment of the military
perpetrators of abuse and their civilian victims highlights a
serious shortcoming of government human rights policy and
practice. As noted by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, in Indonesia and East Timor
"...the perpetrators of human rights violations continue to enjoy
impunity." The prosecutions of military and police officials that
followed the Santa Cruz massacre were an exception to the general
rule insofar as some members of the security forces were tried and
sentenced. Yet in most respects these trials reflected the general
problem of impunity.
In contrast to the vigour with which they have sought to
punish the survivors, the Indonesian authorities have made only a
perfunctory effort to identify those who died or "disappeared"
during and after the Santa Cruz massacre. In the past two years
they have provided clarification to the UN on the fate of only a
small fraction of the people reported to have "disappeared" on or
about 12 November 1991. The government has located the remains of
only 19 of the dead, and only one (the New Zealander, Kamal
Bamadhaj) has been positively identified. They have failed to
account for the whereabouts of some 200 reported as "disappeared"
and as many as 270 believed to have been killed during and after
the massacre. In a letter to US First Lady Hilary Clinton, dated
10 September 1993, the mothers of many of those who "disappeared"
or died at Santa Cruz expressed the anguish caused by the
government's failure to act:
As mothers of the disappeared and dead children, we are
still living in the silence of this horrendous pain, without
knowing where the graves of our beloved martyred children
are. We demand that the Indonesian Government return the bodies of
our children.
The government has attempted to evade its responsibility to
account for the dead and "disappeared" by publishing information
which is false and misleading. Most seriously, in letters to the
UN's Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights (dated 13
September and 29 November 1993), the Indonesian Government claimed
that, as a result of its investigations, the number still missing
after the massacre had been reduced from 66 to 56. However, of the
ten people the government claimed had reappeared, only two were
actually on the governmen-t's own list of 84 dead and missing. Of
the remaining eight people that the government claimed had
reappeared, four were actually unidentified corpses, with no known
connection to the Santa Cruz massacre. Even the government, in a
separate passage of its letter of 13 September 1993, admitted that
"...it could not be ascertained if these were the remains of
persons considered missing after the Dili incident."
The Killing Continues
There has been no single incident of extrajudicial
execution on the scale of the Santa Cruz massacre since November
1991, but political killings continue. In the period January 1993
to mid-1994 Amnesty International has received reports of the
extrajudicial execution by government forces of more than 20 East
Timorese, and the unlawful killing of seven civilians by
opposition forces (see Appendix III). The victims have come from
all walks of life, but the most vulnerable have been people living
in areas of suspected rebel activity, where Indonesian combat
troops continue to conduct intensive counter-insurgency
operations. Continued restrictions on access to the territory, and
obstacles to proper human rights monitoring, make it difficult to
confirm these reports but Amnesty International believes that the
allegations are sufficiently grave to warrant thorough and
impartial investigation.
As in past years, there has been no indication that the
Indonesian authorities have conducted proper investigations into
the reported killings and "disappearances" and, in keeping with
established practice, none of those believed responsible has been
brought to justice. In one case mentioned by Amnesty International
in its statement to this Committee last year - that of Carlos who
died after being beaten in custody on 11 April 1993 - police
authorities promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. Amnesty
International wrote to the authorities responsible in April 1993
welcoming this news and seeking information on the measures taken.
As of early July 1994 they had not replied.
Government authorities did respond to appeals on behalf of
one man, Gaspar Carlos Xavier, whom Amnesty International feared
had "disappeared" after being arrested by military authorities in
September 1992. However, their replies did little to allay fears
for his safety. In two separate communications dated 9 November
1993 the government con-firmed that Gaspar Carlos Xavier had been
arrested in Kupang, West Timor, in September 1992 on suspicion of
involvement in East Timor's underground resistance. However, the
letters made it clear that he had not been detained in a
recognized prison but held in an unofficial detention centre at
the discretion of military authorities. Apparently seeking to
evade responsibility for his "disappearance" the government said
that he had "abused" the "good treatment and trust given him" and
had "escaped" from custody in December 1992. In offering this
explanation, the government demonstrated a lack of understanding
of its responsibilities for the safety of detainees and
highlighted the vulnerability of all detainees held in unofficial
military detention without charge or trial.
Case Studies: Recent Extrajudicial Executions
Two recent victims of apparent extrajudicial execution
were Francisco and Eusebio, the sons of Deolinda and Laura of
Leolima village in Ainaro District. According to reports they were
shot by soldiers of Battalions 726 and 1633 on 10 January 1994
after refusing to allow the soldiers to confiscate their family's
water buffaloes. Francisco died immediately from gun- shot wounds
while Eusebio was wounded and taken away by the soldiers. His
whereabouts remained unknown at the end of February 1994, after
which no further informa-tion was available.
Also killed in apparent extrajudicial executions in the past
year were two men named Armando and Vicente, village heads of
Waige, Vemasse, Baucau District. According to reliable sources,
they were shot dead on 5 August 1993 by soldiers of the elite
Special Forces Command, Kopassus (Komando Pasukan Khusus), whose
units are notorious for their poor human rights record in East
Timor and Indonesia. The soldiers reportedly buried their bodies
in a secret unmarked grave, where they remained until discovered
by relatives two days later.
Another victim was a 30-year-old woman named Joana Soares,
killed by soldiers in the village of Onu Larau, Bartoli, Viqueque
District in October 1993. According to reports, the soldiers first
stabbed her to death then mutilated her sexual organs with a
knife. The same report said that four eyewitnesses - Antonio
Amaral, Tomas Gomes, Manuel Amaral, and Joao Soares - were
subsequently killed by soldiers, but precise details about the
circumstance of their death were not known.
4. The Question of Access
In the two-and-a-half years since the Santa Cruz massacre, the
Indonesian Government has frequently stated its commitment to
improving access to East Timor by human rights and humanitarian
organizations, as well as the international media. To its credit,
in the past year the government has permitted a wide range of
official delegations - including parliamen-tarians, members of
church organizations, journalists, and representatives of some
human rights organizations - to visit the territory. The
government has also facilitated improved ICRC access to tried
prisoners in the past year, and in January 1994 it invited the UN
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions to visit.
Nevertheless, serious obstacles remain to the proper
monitoring and investigation of human rights in East Timor. Some
international human rights organizations continue to be denied
access altogether. Despite numerous requests and repeated public
assurances that the territory is open to all, Amnesty
International has not been permitted to visit. The organizatio-n's
most recent request was outlined in a letter to Foreign Minister
Ali Alatas, dated 6 May 1994, written after the Foreign Minister
made a public announcement that the government wished to open a
dialogue with Amnesty International. As of early July 1994 the
government had not replied.
Even where formal access is granted, the political and
security situation in East Timor presents all human rights
monitors and visitors with unique difficulties. Whatever
guarantees may be offered in advance by the Indonesian Foreign
Ministry, all official visits - whether by parliamentarians,
journalists, diplomats or UN representatives - are closely
monitored by local military authorities, and particularly by its
far-reaching intelligence apparatus.
Official delegations to East Timor find, almost without
exception, that they are prevented on various pretexts from
visiting specific locations or meeting certain people. Most also
find that visits to alternative locations have been organized on
their behalf, thereby affording the authorities an opportunity to
prepare the scene in advance and to ensure that time is spent in
an unproductive way. Plainclothes intelligence officers and
minders from the Foreign Ministry accompany delegations
everywhere, and all contact with the local population is closely
monitored. Those suspected of sympathy with the independence
movement are warned in advance against approaching the delegation
or undertaking any sort of demonstra-tion.
Fully aware that they will be identified and their remarks
recorded by Indonesian officials, most East Timorese are likely to
be too frightened to approach a visiting delegation. Their fears
are well founded. With the exception of a handful of well-known
church or government personalities, those who do so are almost
always subsequently detained. The best-known activists are
commonly held without charge in the days and weeks prior to an
official visit. Sentenced political prisoners are also subject to
various kinds of control designed to prevent them from
communicating with the outside world, and with domestic human
rights organizations.
Case Study: Prisoners of Conscience Moved
In June 1994 six East Timorese prisoners of conscience
serving sentences between five-and-a-half years and life
imprisonment for their non-violent political activities, were
transferred secretly from Dili to a prison several hundred miles
away. The six had managed to stage a small pro- independence
protest during a prison visit by foreign journalists in April
1994, causing the government considerable embarrassment. One of
the journalists who visited Dili in April reported that, despite
efforts by prison warders to prevent him, one of the prisoners
shouted from his cell:
They accused me of political crimes and tortured me with
electric shocks, but they are invaders of my country and I
don't accept their verdict. They pro- hibited us from talking
to you and will punish us for this but we have to speak out.
The Indonesian authorities claimed the prison move was a
routine matter. However, given the background of the six prisoners
it appeared likely that the move was intended to avoid
embarrassment to the Indonesian authorities during future official
visits to East Timor. The timing of the transfer suggested that it
may have been designed to make it more difficult for the prisoners
to communicate with the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, who was scheduled to visit
Jakarta and East Timor just a few weeks later.
Apart from their reputation as outspoken advocates of East
Timor's independence, the prisoners - Filomeno da Silva Pereira,
Francisco Miranda Branco, Gregorio da Cunha Saldanha, Jacinto das
Neves Raimundo Alves, Juvncio de Jesus Martins, and Saturnino da
Costa Belo - had one thing in common which might have made the
Indonesian authorities especially anxious to limit their contact
with the Special Rapporteur: they were witnesses to the Santa Cruz
massacre.
The prisoners were initially reported to have "disappeared".
Relatives who went to the prison in Dili for a regular visit were
reportedly told by other prisoners there that the six had been led
away in handcuffs by a unit of the Police Mobile Brigade in the
early morning hours of 9 or 10 June. As of 12 June, relatives had
been unable to locate the six at other prisons and military
installations in the city, and the authorities denied any
knowledge of their whereabouts. Indonesian human rights
organizations later discovered that they had been taken to a
prison in Semarang, Central Java. Indonesian military authorities
confirmed on 13 June that the six had been transferred to Semarang
prison over the weekend.
Amnesty International welcomed the official clarification,
but expressed regret that the authorities had failed to inform
relatives in advance of the move, thereby causing considerable
distress and concern for the prisoners' safety. It remains
concerned that the prisoners are being held hundreds of miles from
their homes, making visits by relatives and friends extremely
difficult. Finally, in view of the fact that the six have been
imprisoned for their non-violent political beliefs and activities,
Amnesty International believes that they should be released
immediately and unconditionally.
6. Conclusions and Recommendations
The human rights situation in East Timor remains serious in 1994
and, despite its often stated commitment to the protection of
human rights, the Government of Indonesia has done little to
address the root causes of the problem. This report has
highlighted four particular areas of concern - torture, political
imprisonment, extrajudicial execution and access to human rights
monitors - both because they demonstrate the continuation of a
long-standing pattern of abuse in East Timor, and because they
appear to have been ignored or seriously misunderstood by member
states of the UN.
Torture and ill-treatment continue to be used routinely to
intimidate suspected political opponents of Indonesian rule and to
extract political intelligence. At the same time, the government
has failed to implement the concrete recommendations of the UN
Special Rapporteur on torture. Political imprisonment after
unfair trial, and short-term arbitrary detention remain
commonplace. The government has failed to clarify the fate of more
than a small fraction of an estimated 270 people killed and 200
others thought to have "disappeared" during and after the Santa
Cruz massacre. The officers ultimately responsible for the
killings have yet to be brought to justice, while civilians who
survived the massacre or protested against it continue to serve
lengthy prison terms. Meanwhile, further extrajudicial executions
and "disappearances" have been reported during the year. Serious
restrictions remain on effective human rights monitoring, and some
human rights organizations, including Amnesty International,
continue to be denied entry to the territory altogether. While the
government's decision to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution to visit East Timor
in July 1994 was a welcome step, concern remains about the
conditions under which all such official visits take place.
The principal responsibility for improving the human rights
situation in East Timor unquestionably rests with the Government
of Indonesia. However, the international commun-ity necessarily
shares some responsibility, particularly in view of East Timor's
unresolved political status. The organization therefore offers the
following set of recommendations to the Government of Indonesia,
and to member states of the UN, in the belief that if implemented,
they would go some way toward improving the situation.
Recommendations to the Government of Indonesia
1. Take immediate steps to implement the concrete recommendations
of the UN Special Rapporteur on torture. In particular ensure that
all persons deprived of their liberty are held in an officially
recognized place of detention and are brought before a judicial
authority promptly after arrest; and that all detainees are given
prompt and unrestricted access to legal counsel of their own
choice, as required by Indonesian and international law.
2. Release all East Timorese prisoners of conscience immediately
and unconditionally, and cease the practice of short-term
arbitrary detention of peaceful political opponents and human
rights activists.
3. Account fully for the dead and the "disappeared" from the Santa
Cruz massacre and its aftermath; and bring promptly to justice all
those ultimately responsible for the Santa Cruz massacre.
4. Permit all qualified observers and organizations - including
those that have been critical of Indonesia's human rights record -
to visit East Timor on a regular basis; and guarantee the safety
of those who seek to provide information to visitors about human
rights questions.
5. Invite the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, the UN Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the UN Working Group on Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances to visit East Timor.
Recommendations to UN Member States
1. Call upon the Indonesian authorities to implement the
recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on torture.
2. Express concern about the routine imprisonment of the
government's political opponents in East Timor, and call for the
immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of
con-science.
3. Urge the Indonesian authorities to account fully for the dead
and "disappeared" from the Santa Cruz massacre and its aftermath;
and express concern at the government's failure to bring to
justice all those ultimately responsible for the Santa Cruz
massacre.
4. Encourage the government to improve access to East Timor by
human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, and
to put an end to the legal and other obstacles that continue to
impede the work of international and domestic human rights and
humanitarian bodies.
5. Welcome the government's decision to invite the UN Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to
visit East Timor in 1994, and suggest that it also extend
invitations to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, the Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances.
Appendix I:
Consensus Statement concerning East Timor read by the Chairman at
the 50th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights,Geneva, 8
March 1994
Following consultations, I would like to make a statement
announcing what has been agreed by consensus by the Commission on
the situation of human rights in East Timor.
"The Commission on Human Rights discussed the human rights
situation in East Timor. The Commission notes with concern
continuing allegations of human rights violations in East Timor,
while recognising the positive measures taken by the Government of
Indonesia to improve the situation.
The Commission recalls the undertakings by the Government of
Indonesia to promote human rights in East Timor and those
contained in the consensus Chairman's Statement at its 48th
session on the matter, and stresses the need to take further steps
towards its implementation. A matter of preoccupation of the
Commission is the incomplete information concerning the number of
people killed and the persons unaccounted for as a result of the
Dili violent incident of 12 November 1991. While acknowledging the
efforts made to account for those persons, the Commission calls
upon the Government of Indonesia to continue its investigations on
those still missing and the circumstances surrounding the matter.
The Commission expressed the hope that the cooperation between the
ICRC and the Government of Indonesia will continue. It calls upon
the Indonesian authorities to ensure that those East Timorese in
custody are treated humanely, and that their rights are fully
respected, and to take further appropriate measures aimed at the
early release of those convicted. The Commission is encouraged by
greater access recently granted by the Indonesian authorities to
human rights and humanitarian organisations as well as
international media and calls upon them to continue this policy of
expanding access.
The Commission welcomes the undertaking by the Government of
Indonesia to invite the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions to visit East Timor and to submit
his report to its fifty-first session. In the same spirit, the
Commission takes note of the intention of the Government of
Indonesia to continue to cooperate with other relevant thematic
Special Rapporteurs and/or Working Groups and to invite them to
visit East Timor when necessary for the fulfilment of their
duties.
The Commission welcomes the current dialogue between Indonesia and
Portugal under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General and
encourages him to continue his good offices in order to achieve a
just, comprehensive and internationally acceptable settlement to
the question of East Timor. In this context, the Commission
stresses the importance of the understanding reached on confidence
building measures between the two governments and welcomes the
recent mission undertaken by Mr Francesco Vendrell as
representative of the Secretary-General in order to promote
further progress in that dialogue. The Commission requests the
Secretary-General to keep it informed on the situation of human
rights in East Timor and will consider it at its fifty-first
session."
***
Appendix II: List of Tried Political Prisoners from East Timor
Name/Sentence: Albino Lourdes (m) 17 years, 17/01/85
Prison Cipinang, Jakarta Alleged offence
Fretilin
Name/Sentence Marito Mario Nicolaudos Reis (m)
17 years 18/11/84
Prison Cipinang Alleged offence Fretilin
Name/sentence Alfonso Rangel (m), 5 years */10/91 Prison
Dili Alleged offence Stealing "secret documents"
Name/sentence Amarao de Araujo (29,m) */10/91, 3 years
Prison Dili Alleged offence Stealing "secret
documents" [Prisoner is the brother in-law of Felesmina dos Santos
Conceiao ]
Name/sentence Felesmina dos Santos Conceiao (f,29)
**/10/91, 5 years
Prison Dili Alleged offence Stealing "secret
documents" [Prisoner is the sister-in -law of Amarao de Araujo ]
Name/sentence Aleixo de Silva Gama (22,m), 27 months Prison
Dili Alleged offence Motael Church incident 28/10/91
Released
Name/sentence Joao dos Santos (23,m) 2 years Prison
Dili Alleged offence Motael Church incident 28/10/91 - Released
Name/sentence Boby Xavier (19,m) 3 years Prison
LP Kupang, West Timor Alleged offence Motael Church incident
28/10/91
Name/sentence Bonifacio Bareto (m) 20 mths Prison
Dili Alleged offence Motael Church incident , 28/10/91 Released
Name/sentence Jacob da Silva (m) 2 years Prison
Dili Alleged offence Motael Church incident 28/10/91, released
Name/sentence Bonifacio Magno Pereira (34,m) 6 years Prison
LP Kupang, West Timor Alleged offence Santa Cruz demonstration,
12/11/91
Name/sentence Carlos dos Santos Lemos (30,m) 8 years Prison
LP Kupang, West Timor Alleged offence Santa Cruz demonstration,
12/11/91
Name/sentence Francisco Miranda Branco (40,m) 15 years Prison
LP Semarang, Central Java Alleged offence Santa Cruz
demonstration, 12/11/91
[Secretly transferred from Dili, 11/6/94]
Name/sentence Filomeno da Silva Pereira (33,m) 5 yr 8 mth
Prison LP Semarang, Central Java Alleged offence Santa
Cruz demonstration, 12/11/91
[Secretly transferred from Dili 11/6/94]
Name/sentence Gregorio da Cunha Saldanha (28,m) Life Prison
LP Semarang, Central Java Alleged offence Santa Cruz
demonstration 12/11/91
[Secretly transferred from Dili 11/6/94]
Name/sentence Jacinto das Neves Raimundo Alves (33,m) 10 yrs
Prison LP Semarang, Central Java Alleged offence Santa
Cruz demonstration 12/11/91
[Secretly transferred from Dili 11/6/94]
Name/sentence Juvncio de Jesus Martins (32,m) 6 yr, 10 mth
Prison LP Semarang, Central Java Alleged offence Santa
Cruz demonstration 12/11/91
[Secretly transferred from Dili 11/6/94]
Name/sentence Saturnino da Costa Belo (m) 9 years Prison
LP Semarang, Central Java Alleged offence Santa Cruz
demonstration 12/11/91
[Secretly transferred from Dili 11/6/94]
Name/sentence Fernando de Araujo, (25,m) 9 years
Prison Cipinang, Jakarta Alleged offence Peaceful
demonstration in Jakarta, 19/11/91
Name/sentence Joao Freitas da Camara (36,m) 10 years Prison
Cipinang, Jakarta Alleged offence Peaceful demonstration,
Jakarta 19/11/91
Name/sentence Virgilio da Silva Gutteres (25,m) 2 years, 6
months Prison Cipinang, Jakarta Aleged offence
Peaceful demonstration Jakarta, 19/11/91
Released, April 1994
Name/sentence Agapito Cardoso (m) 10 months Prison
Cipinang, Jakarta Allleged offence Santa Cruz demonstration
Jakarta 19/11/91
Released, 1993
Name/sentence Domingos Barreto (m) 6 months Prison
Cipinang, Jakarta Allleged offence Santa Cruz demonstration
Jakarta 19/11/91
Released, 1992.
Name/sentence Xanana Gusmao (45,m) 20 yrs Prison
Cipinang, Jakarta Alleged offence Rebellion & illegal possession
of firearms
[Sentenced reduced from life by President,
August 1993]
Name/sentence Corporal Agusto Pereira (m) 18 months Prison
Dili Alleged offence Providing sanctuary to Xanana Gusmao
Name/sentence Alberto Rodrigues Pereira (22,m) 22 months
Prison Dili Allleged offence Destroying an Indonesian
flag (1993)
Name/sentence Pedro Sarmento da Costa 1 year Prison
Dili Alleged offence Defacing a banknote (asking for
compensation for
Santa Cruz victims)
Name/sentence Miguel de Deus (m) 20 months Prison
Dili Alleged offence Peaceful protest Dili, 14/4/94
Name/sentence Isaac Soares (m) 20 months Prison
Dili Alleged offence Peaceful protest, 14/4/94
Name/sentence Pantaleao Amaral (m) 20 months Prison
Dili Alleged offence Peaceful protest, 14/4/94
Appendix III: Table A - Reported Extrajudicial Executions by
Government Forces in East Timor, January 1993 to June 1994
Name: Francisco (48) (m) Residence:
Village head Suco de Balibar, Dili Date/place killing 28
February 1993. Office of military intelligence, SGI
(Satuan Gabungan Intelijen) in Farol, Dili.
Alleged perpetrators: Ten "Nanggalas" (members of Komando Pasukan
Khususor
Kopassus). Arrested and taken to SGI
headquarters in Dili; died in custody.
Witnessed by 6 East Timorese.
Name: Jose Antonio (22) (m)
Paulo Jeronimo (m) Roberto Belo (m)
Residence Santa Cruz, Dili Date/place killing:
mid-March 1993 Alleged perpetrators "Ninjas" (police-backed
vigilantes) Killed by Ninjas
at about 7pm while on their way home.
Name: Carlos (30) (m) Residence
Lahane, Dili Date/place killing 11 April 1993. Lahane Village
Office, Dili. Alleged perpetrators Two police officers and a
village headman,
identified as TAB. Different report says
perpetrators were members of Army Battalion
507. Reports vary. One says Carlos was
beaten in custody at Lahane Village Office
by village head and two police then taken
to Dili Police station. Hospitalised due to
injuries, released, then died at home a few
hours later. Different report says he was
arrested one week earlier by military
intelligence (SGI), then rearrested and
beaten by three soldiers, not police.
Another says he had been wounded and
arrested after Santa Cruz, then arrested by
members of Battalion 507 on 10.4.93, and
killed at 1am the following morning.
Corpse left in front of Chinese
cemetery,Dili.
Chief of Police for East Timor (Noegroho
Djajusman) promised a full investigation
but no sign that perpetrators were brought
to justice, by July 1994. AI wrote to
Noegroho on 4 May 1993, and to a local
parliamentarian on 30 April 1993, but by
July 1994 had received no replies.
Names: Armando (m), Vicente (m) Residence:
Heads of Waige village, Vemasse, Baucau. Date/place killings 5
August 1993 at 7pm. Waige, Vemasse, Baucau.
Alleged perpetrators: Soldiers of "red berets" (i.e. Komando
Pasukan Khusus
or Kopassus) The two men were shot dead.
Armando received three bullet wounds and
Vicente seven. Soldiers buried them in
secret. Families frightened to look at
first but found their bodies on 7 August
1993.
Names: Joana Soares (30) (f) Luwa, Viqueque
Antonio Amaral (37) (m) Tomas Gomes (41)
(m) Manuel Amaral (40) (m) Joao Soares (32)
(m)
Date/place killings: October 1993. Onu Laran, Bartoli, 8km east
of Viqueque.
Place of killing four others unclear.
Indonesian military, identified only as
"Armed-4", not a familiar appellation.
Alleged perpetrators: Joana Soares raped and then killed with a
knife; her
sexual organs cut after she was killed.
Four witnesses then reportedly shot dead;
one other man - Jose Soares
- reportedly wounded at Ai-Na-Bein,Bartoli,
Viqueque.
Names: Six people Osoala, Baucau 28 October 1993.
Date/place killings: Osoala, Baucau. Alleged perpetrators:
Indonesian troops; unspecified.
Opposition source claims the six were
suspected members of the underground, while
Indonesian military authorities claim they
were killed by Falintil guerrillas (See
Table B). Later information suggested they
may have died in a non-political family
dispute over land.
Names: Tomas Guterres (29) (m) Baguia, Baucau
Duarte Ximenes (17) (m) Laga, Baucau Matias
da Costa (27) (m) Iliomar, Los Palos
Date/place killings 5 January 1994. During military operation
checking
identity cards along main roads into Dili;
precise place of capture, detention and
killing unknown. Possibly detained in
Baucau.
Alleged perpetrators: Soldiers of Combat Detachment 515
(Detasemen
Tempur 515), on the order of Lt Col.
Sarining Setoyo Utomo, Reg No. 28498.
Allegedly died in military custody
following ill treatment and torture. No
details of treatment. Arrest occurred
during military operations prior to the
visit to East Timor of Portuguese General
Carlos Galvao de Melo and Dr Manuel Tilman.
Earlier, opposition source claimed Duarte
Dias and Matias da Costa were executed in
Colmera prison 28/10/93 but Government
denied this and claimed they were still
alive.
Names: Francisco (m) Eusebio (m) "disappeared"
Sons of Deolinda and Laura of Leolima,
Fatudu, Ainaro.
Date/place killings: 10 January 1994. Near Leolima village,
Fatudu, Ainaro. Alleged perpetrators: Soldiers of Indonesian
Army Battalions 726 and 1633.
Young brothers shot by soldiers after they
refused to allow soldiers to take their
water-buffaloes. Francisco died
immediately. Eusebio was wounded and taken
by soldiers; whereabouts unknown as of end
February 1994.
Names: Petrus Tomae (32) (m) East Timorese worker
at PT
Indocement, Citeureup, Bogor, West Java.
Date/place killings 29 January 1994. Found in Citeureup River,
Bogor, near
factory where he worked.
Alleged perpetrators: Unknown Victim's corpse showed signs of
physical abuse,
leading human rights activists to suspect
he had been murdered by security forces or
company guards. This suspicion was fuelled
by lethargic police investigation.
Appendix III: Table B - Reported Killings by Opposition Groups in
East Timor, January 1993 to June 1994
Identity of victims: Six Villagers Osoala, Baucau Date/place
killings 5 October 1993. Osoala, Baucau Alleged perpetrators:
Falintil guerrillas
Extra details: Military sources claim the six were killed
by
Falintil, while opposition source claim
they were killed by government troops (See
Table A). Later information suggested it
may have been a family dispute, not
politically motivated.
Identity of victim: Village Head Date/place killings: 2
February 1994. Atsabe, Letifoho, Ermera District. Alleged
perpetrators: Falintil guerrillas
Extra details: Victim was an alleged informer for
Indonesian
intelligence. After his death, the parish
priest for Ermera, Father Domingos Soares,
was called in for questioning in Dili.
Fifteen people from the same village
arrested.
Appendix IV: Letter to Amnesty International from confidential
source in Becora prison, Dili
A Short report on the Condition and Situation of Political
Prisoners
a) Following the tragic events of 12 November 1991, the
survivors were arrested and taken to the police prison in Comoro.
They remained in this prison from 12 November to 20 August 1992.
Provisions in this prison were minimal; i.e. there were six
cells, two of which had no roof, and were exposed to the air. The
number of prisoners at the time totalled 37. The cells were very
small for the number of inmates, five square metres per five to
eight prisoners. Water was in very short supply, the food was
wretched and the prisoners slept on the damp ground, without mats.
All these factors contributed to a deterioration in the physical
condition of the prisoners, many of whom, like Boby Xavier,
Antonio Belo and Francisco (from Viqueque), began to suffer from
lung ailments. There was a lot of malaria, owing to the hugh
numbers of mosquitoes, and the lack of fresh air undermined the
health of a large number of prisoners, many of whom also
contracted anaemia. The prisoners were not allowed to take mass or
have contact with priests, except at Christmas and Easter.
For about a month the prisoners were not allowed contact
with their families. After that daily contact with the families
was allowed. Later, when the prisoners chose the YLBHI lawyers for
their defence, rejecting the local lawyer proposed by the
Government, this contact was reduced to three times a week and
restricted by glass screens.
Restrictions placed on contact with families increased
again when the trial began. Relatives were only allowed to visit
the prisoners after obtaining due authorization from the Court.
Meetings with relatives took place in the presence of the Deputy
Prosecutor of the Republic (Jaksa). The prisoners and their
families were the targets of continual threats, intimidation and
humiliation throughout the trial period. Their houses were placed
under continual surveillance by strangers in civilian clothes,
inflicting fear and distress on the occupants.
b) From 20 August 1992 to 5 April 1993 the prisoners, 13 in
all, who were tried and sentenced by the Court of Indonesia
- five in relation to the events of 28 October 1991 at Motael
Church, and seven in connection with the events of 12 November
1991 - were placed in the military prison of Balide (formerly
Comarca), notorious to the Timorese people for the barbaric
treatment meted out to the political prisoners that are held
there. The prison building is old, a legacy of the Portuguese
colonial government. The inhumane conditions, including the lack
of ventilation, the damp floor - the place is situated on marshy
ground - the unbearable heat, exacerbated by the building's very
low roof, and the location of the cells, separated one from the
other, combined to create surroundings of total isolation and
gloom. In this prison the prisoners above-mentioned endured total
isolation for five months. They had no contact with relatives or
lawyers, nor with the prisoners who 'lived' in the other cells. In
addition to this, the prisoners were not allowed fresh air and had
to sleep on the damp ground, a factor which contributed to the
physical
deterioration of the inmates and caused four of them to become
seriously ill with anaemia and malaria. One of these, Bonifacio
Barreto, needed urgent and intensive treatment and was taken to
the Military Hospital after his prison inmates had made insistent
protests and pleas on his behalf. The outbreak of an epidemic
affected all 13 prisoners in the cell. News of the incident was
covered in the international press, leading the Government of
Occupation to intervene and nominate a medical team, comprising
military doctors of the army, navy and air force. Subsequently the
prisoners were allowed outside their cells to take the sunlight
and fresh air. During this time newsletters, official
documents,
etc., were not allowed in; nor were the pens and papers which the
prisoners needed to work on their appeal to the High Court of
Indonesia, which was then taking place. This prohibition led to
the rejecting of the prisoners' appeals by the Court on the
grounds of failure to present an appeal in accordance with the
Penal Code (KUHP). On another occasion all documents relating to
the legal proceedings were confiscated, including the written
sentence of the Court of Dili and drafts of the appeal to the
Court, which was about to come to a half owing to lack of official
documents, etc. Any attempt to contact relatives was expressly
forbidden for five months, including contact with some relatives
of the prisoners who were seriously ill. This situation only
'improved' during the preparations for the Human Rights conference
in Geneva, when prisoners were gradually allowed more contact with
their
families; at first one hour per week, then up to two hours per
week. Mass was also allowed, in the presence of canonesses and a
Jesuit priest who came to celebrate mass every Sunday, with the
participation of the prisoners' families.
c) In the interests of good international public
relations/diplomacy with regard to respect for human rights in
East Timor and the treatment of political prisoners and in
preparation for the visit of the Special Envoy of the Secretary
General of the UN, Mr Amos Wako, on 5 April 1993, the prisoners
were transferred from the military prison of Balide to the
civilian prison of Becora. This prison building is new, recently
built and with 19 cells. It covers about 900 square metres, with
walls about 3.5 metres high. The cement floor is damp in the area
where the prisoners are lodged, one to a cell, without beds, and
prisoners' requests for beds and cushions have been rejected out
of hand. The isolation continues as before. Contact with other
prisoners is expressly forbidden and if any of these try to
contact the prisoners of 12 November 1991 they are severely
punished. Fresh restrictions have been placed on family visits.
Officially prisoners are allowed one hour per week, but in
practice only 45 minutes. Before visits the prisoners are searched
at a post very close to the prison, as are the families, both
before and after a visit. Even then, they are required to possess
the necessary authorization from the Court of Dili. This has to be
obtained two days beforehand and often the relatives are subjected
to humiliating treatment and derision when news from abroad is not
favourable to the Indonesian Government.
Medical care is non-existent. To give an concrete example,
Gregorio de Cunha Saldanha is currently suffering from a debility
in the arms as a result of lack of medical attention. (One arm
was broken in a fall at the military prison of Balide four days
before being transferred to Becora). It is to be feared that if in
future something serious happens to one of the prisoners it will
be difficult to get prompt and adequate treatment, in view of the
fact that for such treatment it is necessary that there be some
coordination between the different military and civil institutions
(according to the explanations given on a number of occasions by
the prison officials).
On 7 April 1993, after the visit of Mr Amos Wako, seven of
the 13 political prisoners were deported from the territory
without prior warning being given to their families, and the
remaining prisoners are waiting the same fate.
A part of the result of the appeal to the High Court had
already come to the knowledge of the prisoners. The appeals of
Gregorio de Cunha Saldanha and Juvncio de Jesus Martins, were not
accepted on grounds of the failure to present an appeal document,
as mentioned above. On the other hand the prisoners were
approached through representatives of the Government Prosecution
Department (Jaksa) to sign 'Grasi' appeals to the President of
Indonesia. The prisoners refused to do so. These overtures were
made on several occasions, and the prisoners were brought a
declaration made by Sudjono, supposed lawyer for the national
leader, Xanana Gusmao, in which he declares in the name of his
client, Gusmao's interest in petitioning the President.
Nevertheless, approaches of this nature were always rejected by
the political prisoners. To judge from the previous experiences of
other political prisoners, it is likely that other kinds of
approaches will be made, accompanied by physical coercion.
d) Another matter to which attention should be drawn is the
situation of the political prisoner, Saturnino da Costa Belo. He
was arrested in Dili and subsequently transferred to Baucau, where
he was brought to trial. He remained for a year in Baucau before
being transferred, together with other political prisoners
connected with the events of 12 November 1991 in Dili. While in
Baucau he was badly beaten, both at the prison and at the
courthouse, during the trial. He was kept in a cell during this
entire period, refused access to fresh air or contact with his
family. During his trial, and also while at the prison, he
declared his opposition to the Indonesian military occupation of
East Timor and because of this he was often refused food on
successive days. His house was placed under permanent surveillance
by the military, who seized all his household possessions - radio,
catans, kitchen knives, clothes and shoes, swords (or Surik) used
in traditional ceremonies, money to the value of Rp 100.000 and
many other household utensils. These items were later produced in
court as evidence for the prosecution. The prisoner's
father, Afonso Mareal, aged 60, and living in Samalari-Baucau, was
arrested and held under investigation for a week. He was
subsequently released into conditional liberty, required, that is,
to present himself three times a day at the intelligence
authorities' command post in Baucau. His brother, Custodio
de Jesus, a 19-year-old student, has been imprisoned at SGI in
Dili since 5 October 1992. And another brother, Alcino Belo, aged
25, was barbarically murdered by the military in the course of
reprisals for the attack made in Baucau by nationalist guerillas
on 5 October 1992. After being wounded, Alcino Belo was subjected
to intensive interrogation by the intelligence forces, with the
aim of obtaining information on the underground organisations
existing in Baucau. Because he remained silent, stubbornly
refusing to
give information, he was severely tortured and they crucified, on
a cross, in an imitation of the crucifixion of Christ at Calvary,
and on the cross he drew his last breath. This act was carried out
behind the Military Hospital building of Baucau, located in the
small town of Kaibada, on 6 October 1992, at night.
During the trial of the national leader, Xanana Gusmao,
Saturnino was taken to court to testify. Because of the demand
he made to the Indonesian Government while at the court to respect
human rights in East Timor he was severely beaten and
interrogated by the military police. They threatened him by
placing the barrel of a pistol inside his ear and he was put in a
cell and left there in total darkness, including during the day.
Since he continued to refuse to apologise to the
judge and did not admit to any wrongdoing, he was never again
brought to court as a witness by Indonesian Government agents, on
the basis of the 'Pers' that the witness was ill and suffering
from migraine, when in fact he was not ill at all.
It should be pointed out that the political prisoners of 12
November 1991 are being subjected to a very 'special' treatment
compared to the other prisoners. This violates Indonesia's own
laws, since the Penal Code contained no reference to a 'special'
category of treatment for prisoners, whatever their crime. We
wish to end our brief report by bringing attention the following
facts; During the period of pre-trial investigation the houses of
the prisoners of the tragic events of 12 November 1991 were raided
by the forces of occupation, notably: - Gregorio de Cunha
Saldanha: His house was raided and a number of documents were
removed, including the 'Alvara', study books on the Portuguese
language, family photographs and various other household items. -
Juvncio de Jesus Martins and Filomeno de Silva Pereira: Their
houses were searched several times and their families terrorized
with threats of persecution, as was said by the judge in the
course of the trial proceedings.
When the Conference of Non-Aligned Countries was held in
Jakarta in November 1992 many young nationalists were arrested and
taken to secret prison locations in Dili in the wake of an attempt
by the young people to hold a peaceful demonstration in Dili in
protest at the arbitrary and illegal actions of the Indonesian
Government in East Timor.
Afterwards some of the detainees were taken to the same
prison where we being held, the military prison of Balide. In the
prison, from their cries of pain and distress, we became aware of
the severity of the treatment to which they were being subjected.
We later learned that the detainees were being held in a block
where the cells are in much worse conditions that those elsewhere
in the prison; i.e. they were being held without water and without
light, in fact in pitch darkness, even during daylight, and the
cells were filthy. According to the information we obtained in
that prison, the following happened to these prisoners:
They were thrown out of their cells late at night and
forced to wash in a tank of water. Then, in their wet clothes,
they were returned to the respective cells and left to sleep on
the damp ground, without mats or covers.
They were only allowed to eat twice a day, and the rations
were minimal. They remained in their cells for weeks on end,
deprived of the opportunity to wash or take fresh air.
Their families, shocked and distressed, were consistently
refused reliable information as to their whereabouts.
After weeks of detention in that prison they were removed
at dead of night by military personnel, and up till now their
whereabouts are unknown.
Their details are as follows:
1. Marcos (Madini), 36 years old
2. Gaspar Juliao, 30 years old from Culu-Hun, arrested in
Cupao
3. Arnaldo, 41 years old, from Hilok Laram
4. Arnaldo, 29 years, from Vilaverde
5. Goveia, 25 years old, from Matadouro
Despite their families' insistent pleas, the military authorities
have never given them any reliable information.
We herewith end this brief report on the prison conditions
under which we have been living. Bem haja! Long live Freedom,
Peace and Justice in East Timor! This information comes
from: (Names Confidential).
***
Appendix V: List of Amnesty International Reports on East Timor
Since 1990.
1990 East Timor: Short-term Detention and Ill-treatment, January
1990 (ASA 21/02/90)
East Timor: Amnesty International Statement to the United Nations
Special Committee on Decolonization, August 1990 (ASA 21/09/90)
1991
East Timor: Update on Human Rights Concerns Since August 1990,
January 1991 (ASA 21/01/91)
East Timor: Amnesty International Statement to the United Nations
Special Committee on Decolonization, August 1991 (ASA 21/14/91)
East Timor: The Santa Cruz Massacre, 14 November 1991 (ASA
21/23/91)
Indonesia/East Timor: AI Appalled at Massacre, Calls for Impartial
Inquiry, press statement, 14 November 1991 (ASA 21/21/91)
East Timor: After the Massacre, 21 November 1991 (ASA 21/24/91)
Indonesia/East Timor: AI Urges Rigorous Standards for
International Inquiry into Massacre, press statement, 3 December
1991 (ASA 21/WU 03/91)
1992
East Timor: Violations Continue and Doubts Remain Over Official
Inquiry, press statement, 9 January 1992 (ASA 21/WU 01/92)
Indonesia/East Timor - Santa Cruz: The Government Response,
February 1992 (ASA 21/03/92)
Indonesia/East Timor: Human Rights Protesters Charged with
Subversion, press statement, 27 March 1992 (ASA 21/WU 02/92)
Indonesia/East Timor: Human Rights Activists Convicted of
Subversion, press statement, 27 May 1992 (ASA 21/WU 03/92)
Indonesia/East Timor: Fernando de Araujo - Prisoner of Conscience,
May 1992 (ASA 21/07/92)
Indonesia/East Timor - The Suppression of Dissent, July 1992 (ASA
21/09/92) East Timor: "In Accordance with the Law" Statement
before the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization,
July 1992 (ASA 21/11/92)
Amnesty International refused access to East Timor for anniversary
of Santa Cruz Massacre, press statement, 6 November 1992 (ASA
21/WU 04/92)
Indonesia/East Timor: Amnesty International fears further
deterioration of human rights situation, press statement, 9
November 1992 (ASA 21/WU 05/92)
1993
East Timor: Xanana Trial a Travesty of Justice press statement, 21
May 1993 (ASA 21/ WU 02/93)
Indonesia/East Timor: Seven East Timorese Seek Asylum, 23 June
1993 (ASA 21/13/93)
East Timor: Unfair Political Trial of Xanana Gusmao, July 1993
(ASA 21/05/93)
Indonesia/East Timor: Seven East Timorese still in danger, 5 July
1993 (ASA 21/14/93)
East Timor: State of Fear, Statement before the United Nations
Special Committee on Decolonization, 13 July 1993 (ASA 21/15/93)
1994
Indonesia & East Timor: Fact and Fiction - Implementing the
Recommendations of the UN Commission on Human Rights, 16 February
1994 (ASA 21/05/94)
East Timor: Who Is To Blame? Statement Before the UN Special
Committee on Decolonization, 13 July 1994 (ASA 21/31/94)
For further information on human rights violations in East Timor
see: East Timor: Violations of Human Rights - Extrajudicial
Executions, "Disappearances, Torture and Political Imprisonment
1985 (ASA 21/16/85)