*EPF208 03/05/2002
Excerpt: Report Says East Timor Makes Progress Toward Democracy
(Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2001) (1840)

East Timor made "significant progress" in setting up institutions of governance and of democracy in the past year, according to the State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices for the Year 2001 for that country.

The report, released March 4 in Washington, D.C., notes that East Timor has been preparing for its full independence, which is scheduled for May 20 of this year.

The year 2001, the second year East Timor has been independent from Indonesian rule, has focused on reconstruction and recovery from the violence leading up to East Timor's decision to seek independence from Jakarta, according to the State Department report.

The report says that despite "repeated assurances" from the Jakarta regime, "crossborder Indonesian military-supported militia incursions from Indonesia continued until mid-year."

Despite such incursions, the report continues, "the security situation in most of East Timor was stable throughout the year."

The report details how Indonesia-backed militias based in West Timor, Indonesia, "at times crossed into East Timor and threatened, robbed, attacked, and occasionally killed local villagers."

There were eight militia incursions during the year, but no militia personnel were killed in East Timor in clashes with the U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) peacekeeping forces, the report says.

However, the report adds, one Indonesian soldier, dressed in civilian attire, was killed by the UNTAET peacekeeping forces in July "after he reportedly fired across the border into East Timor."

The full report can be found online at:

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001

Following is the introduction to the East Timor Country Report on Human Rights Practices for the Year 2001:

(begin excerpt)

East Timor

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2001
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 4, 2002

East Timor made significant progress in establishing its institutions of democracy and governance in preparation for full independence which is scheduled for May 20, 2002; however, during its second year of independence from Indonesia, reconstruction and recovery from the September 1999 violence that ravaged the territory was a central focus of activity, and numerous problems remained. In a U.N. administered consultation vote on August 30, 1999, an overwhelming majority of East Timorese voted against autonomy (and, in effect, for independence from Indonesia), and in early September 1999, the U.N. Secretary General declared the ballot results to be "an accurate reflection of the will of the East Timorese people." As a result, in October 1999, the Government of Indonesia approved revocation of the 1978 Indonesian parliamentary decree that annexed East Timor, allowing for the establishment of the U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), which is mandated by the U.N. Security Council to establish a democratic government in East Timor. UNTAET continued to govern East Timor and the East Timor Transitional Administration (ETTA), and the National Council (NC) advised the Transitional Administrator throughout most of the year. On August 30, elections were held to elect an 88-member Constituent Assembly, which is responsible for creating a constitution for East Timor. As a result of the elections, in September UNTAET established a new governing structure, the East Timor Public Administration (ETPA). ETPA consists of 10 ministries and 4 secretariats, all headed by East Timorese. The ETPA Cabinet was selected in consultation with the UNTAET Administrator and the newly elected Constituent Assembly. The Cabinet is dominated by members of Fretilin, the party that won the majority of seats in the Constituent Assembly, but includes some "independent" members who have affiliations to smaller political parties. Under UNTAET regulations, Indonesian law applies throughout East Timor, except in areas in which UNTAET specifically has repealed laws or superceded them with its own regulations. UNTAET regulations providing for an independent judiciary generally were respected during the year; however, the independence of the judiciary occasionally has been questioned.

In February 2000, the Australian-led International Force in East Timor (INTERFET), which arrived in September 1999, transferred military authority to UNTAET Peacekeeping Forces (UN-PKF). The UN-PKF's role was to restore and preserve basic social order and prevent violence by pro-Indonesia militias operating inside East Timor. The UN-PKF was present in the eastern and central sectors of the territory but maintained an especially strong presence on the border, where, despite repeated assurances from the Government of Indonesia, crossborder Indonesian military-supported militia incursions from Indonesia continued until mid-year. Despite such sporadic militia incursions, the security situation in most of East Timor was stable throughout the year. In January 2000, INTERFET transferred responsibility for internal security to the U.N. Civilian Police (CIVPOL). In July 2000, the first group of 50 East Timorese cadets graduated from the Police Academy and began working alongside CIVPOL, augmented by a police assistance group comprised of East Timorese who formerly were part of the Indonesian police forces. By year's end, there were more than 1,300 active members of the East Timor Police Services (ETPS) working with CIVPOL. The training of a new East Timor Defense Force (ETDF) began earlier in the year and incorporated some members of Falintil, the former East Timorese guerrilla forces. The ETDF gradually is to take over responsibilities from the UN-PKF once they have completed their training and gained some experience in the field. Although the UN-PKF began to reduce its presence in East Timor during the year, a significant number is to remain for several years.

East Timor is an extremely poor territory, with two-thirds to three-fourths of the population of 775,000 persons engaged in subsistence agriculture. The Asian Development Bank during the year estimated the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) to be approximately $452. An estimated 70 to 80 percent of East Timor's infrastructure was damaged severely by the systematic scorched-earth campaign that Indonesian military and militia forces conducted in September 1999, as they withdrew from the territory. During the year, reconstruction proceeded slowly. The majority of the population has basic shelter and sufficient food supplies. Low-level commercial activity continued, much of which served the large foreign presence in the territory. The rural agricultural economy has recovered significantly, but unemployment remained high in the urban areas. Coffee remained the territory's only significant export, but falling world prices and a domestic export tax hindered its export. UNTAET authorities repealed the export tax in May and in July East Timor concluded an agreement with Australia over the revenue from the potentially lucrative Timor Gap oil and gas region, located in the waters between East Timor and Australia. However, the Timor Gap is not expected to be economically productive for 5 to 10 years. Property ownership disputes and the lack of a comprehensive commercial code hinder investment and related long-term development. Urban unemployment and wage and price inflation remained significant problems. Most observers believe that East Timor will remain heavily dependent on foreign assistance for the foreseeable future.

UNTAET generally respected the human rights of East Timorese. The arrival of the INTERFET forces and withdrawal of Indonesian forces in September 1999 largely brought to an end the decades-long pattern of numerous, serious human rights abuses by Indonesian authorities and their East Timorese allies; however, many serious problems remained. East Timorese Indonesia-backed militias based in West Timor, Indonesia, at times crossed into East Timor and threatened, robbed, attacked, and occasionally killed local villagers. There were eight militia incursions during the year, but no militia personnel were killed in East Timor in clashes with the UN-PKF. One Indonesian soldier, dressed in civilian attire, was killed by UN-PKF in July after he reportedly fired across the border into East Timor. There were isolated attacks and instances of harassment of returning refugees who were suspected of being former militia members, and National Council of Timorese Resistance sponsored security groups at times were involved in such abuses. The vast majority of the prison population is composed of pretrial detainees, despite explicit protective regulations. However, by December the number of pretrial detainees for serious and ordinary crimes had been greatly reduced from the previous year. On occasion the independence of the judiciary was questioned, and the judiciary's resources remained extremely inadequate. Until its dissolution in the month proceeding the August elections, the CNRT continued to benefit from its close relationship with UNTAET and at times allegedly misused its political influence for employment advantages. By the end of the year, 192,592 internally displaced persons (IDP's) had returned to East Timor from West Timor and other areas of Indonesia, but many others remained in West Timor. During the year, the Government of Indonesia announced that it would end aid to the refugee camps in West Timor and revoked refugee status for the individuals remaining; however, it had not done so by year's end. Domestic violence against women is a significant problem and customary practices discriminate against women. By year's end, most children had returned to school. However, the educational infrastructure, while significantly improved since September 1999, suffered from inadequate facilities, poorly trained teachers, and lack of educational materials. Protestants and Muslims occasionally are harassed, and in March a mob burned the mosque in Baucau. Ethnic-Chinese businessmen faced some extortion and harassment, and non-Portuguese speakers reported discrimination in government hiring. Local leaders sometimes forced suspected militia members returning from West Timor, Indonesia, to engage in compulsory labor. In the past, there have been unconfirmed reports of trafficking in women and children from Indonesia to East Timor.

During the year, significant efforts were made to bring to justice those persons responsible for the most serious abuses committed during 1999. In 2000 UNTAET established a Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (SCIU) to address abuses that were committed from January 1 to October 25, 1999 and concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Government of Indonesia regarding legal, judicial, and human rights cooperation. The SCIU has issued 33 indictments against 82 accused militia members. In July the SCIU began prosecution of the first crimes against humanity case against 11 individuals. In December all 10 of these suspects were convicted by the Special Panel for Serious Crimes and received prison sentences ranging from 4 to 33 years; the 11th individual remained at large in Indonesia. By year's end, the SCIU has issued 7 arrest warrants for Indonesians involved in serious crimes and submitted these arrest warrants to the Indonesian government. The Indonesian Government had not responded formally by year's end. The SCIU and the Special Panel were constrained severely by insufficient staff and funding, as well as by procedural and organizational disputes with UNTAET for most of the year.

On November 6, the trial of mid-level militiaman Jacobus Bere for the July 2000 killing of U.N. Peacekeeper Private Leonard Manning, a member of the New Zealand Army Battalion, continued. Indonesian prosecutors also indicted three militia members involved in the incident. Indonesian cooperation in investigating and prosecuting Manning's assailants came only after UNTAET concluded a supplemental agreement with Indonesian authorities in West Timor in June. The trial continued at year's end.

(end excerpt)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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