Global Policy Forum

By Lely T. Djuhari

An Indonesian general was sentenced Wednesday to five years in jail for failing to prevent two bloody attacks against civilians during East Timor's break with Indonesia in 1999, making him the highest-ranking officer to be convicted over the violence.

Brig. Gen. Noer Muis is among 18 Indonesian officials and militiamen who have been tried over the violence that erupted before and after a U.N.-sponsored independence referendum on Aug. 30, 1999.

The special human rights court in Jakarta has acquitted 12 defendants. Two lower-ranking officers and two civilians have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 10 years. Two other trials are still in progress.

Human rights activists have criticized the trials as a sham, saying they were convened in order to defuse an international drive to set up a U.N. war crimes trial for East Timor akin to those for ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Muis, who was Indonesia's last military commander in East Timor, was accused of allowing pro-Jakarta militias in the town of Suai to attack a church in which 27 people died on Sept. 6, 1999. On the same day, Muis allegedly stood by as hundreds of pro-Jakarta militiamen and police officers invaded the home of Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo. At least 15 civilians died in that attack.

"The defendant did not kill anyone but he failed to prevent and stop the attacks," Justice Adriani Nurdin told a human rights tribunal in Jakarta. "The defendant's action has resulted in many victims and has created a negative image of Indonesia in the eyes of the world," Nurdin said.

Muis, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing and said he would appeal. This would allow him to remain free until the Supreme Court rules on his case. "The judges felt happy to be able to convict a general even though the decision was not supported by the facts that were disclosed in the court," he told reporters as his wife hugged him after the verdict. "I reject this decision. I have my rights," said Muis.

Like most of the officers on trial, Muis has remained in service. He currently teaches a human rights course at the force's academy. In a sign of growing frustration with the legal process in Indonesia, East Timorese prosecutors last month indicted Muis and several other senior generals over the violence. Jakarta said it would ignore that indictment.

Nearly 2,000 civilians were believed killed and 250,000 forced to flee their homes when Indonesian troops and their militia proxies launched a campaign of terror aimed at forcing people to vote for continued union with Jakarta. East Timor gained full independence in May, after a period of transitional rule by the world body following Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation.

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