TIMOR LESTE: No justice for Santa Cruz Massacre Victims after 17 years
19 November 2008 1:57 am

FORUM-ASIA is troubled by the fact that after 17 years, justice and recompense for victims are slow in process to obtain and the main perpetrators of the Santa Cruz Massacre are still free. This statement is a response to the press release by Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal (ANTI), where HAK Association is a member.

FORUM-ASIA's press statement is provided below:

On 12 November, 17 years ago, Indonesian troops opened fire on East Timorese involved in a peaceful memorial procession at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili.

During this disastrous incident, it is estimated that at least 271 people were killed, 278 people were wounded, 103 people were hospitalized and 207 people simply disappeared.

FORUM-ASIA is troubled by the fact that after 17 years, justice and recompense for victims are slow in process to obtain and the main perpetrators of the Santa Cruz Massacre are still free.

Following the release of smuggled footage to the wider world, the Santa Cruz Massacre became a turning point in East Timor’s bloody struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Following a period of United Nations administration from 1999, East Timor finally achieved independence in 2002.

Since then, there have been several efforts to reconstruct the justice system and to prosecute offences from the pre-independence era.

Unfortunately, only 18 junior government officials were indicted in relation to the Santa Cruz deaths.No senior officials were charged. Moreover, only one of the 18 was found guilty, serving a three year sentence.

The others were acquitted. In addition, at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes, a tribunal established with UN assistance at the Dili District Court to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, 440 people were indicted.

However, trials of a further 339 persons of interest could not proceed because those people were living outside the jurisdiction of the court.
Many people still do not know exactly what have happened in East Timor in the process of gaining independence.

Many of the architects of the violence have not been brought to trial. If justice in East Timor is not established properly, FORUM-ASIA fears that the Timorese people will never be able to put this catastrophic history entirely behind them.

FORUM-ASIA deeply regrets that this impunity continues to exist in Timor Leste even 17 years after the Santa Cruz Massacre. We strongly urge the international community and the governments of Indonesia and East Timor to collaborate in bringing justice to the victims of the Santa Cruz Massacre as earliest as possible.

Please read the press released by Timor-Leste National Alliance for an International Tribunal (ANTI) HERE .