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Ramos-Horta Says Apology Needed, Not Tribunal
March 16, 2010

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East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta said on Tuesday that Indonesian soldiers implicated in human rights abuses still needed to apologize for their roles in the brutal occupation of the country even if relations between the neighbors have improved.

“The only thing still missing is an apology … by those who were directing all the suffering,” Ramos-Horta told reporters during a visit to Japan.

East Timor gained formal independence in 2002 after a bloody 24-year occupation by Indonesia that led to the deaths of up to 200,000 people.

A reconciliation commission established jointly by East Timor and Indonesia said in 2008 that while Indonesian forces had committed gross human rights abuses, they should not face further arrests and trials.

Despite having lost three siblings in the conflict, Ramos-Horta, who along with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo was awarded the Nobel Peach Prize in 1996 as world attention began to focus on the suffering in East Timor, has opposed the establishment of an international tribunal for crimes committed during the 1975-1999 occupation.

Last week he was forced to deny claims by Amnesty International that he would support an international tribunal to investigate the atrocities.

“I remain firmly unconvinced that the interests of the victims of my country and the cause of peace and democracy are best served with an international tribunal,” he said in a statement.

The president said he told the meeting that he would not oppose an international tribunal, but he would under no circumstances push for it to be established.

Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid apologized when he visited East Timor in 2000 but successive leaders, namely Megawati Sukarnoputri and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former army general, have stopped short of offering an apology, instead expressing regret.

During his visit to Japan, Ramos-Horta also met Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and energy sector executives. He also secured 700 million yen ($7.7 million) in grant aid for forest preservation and renewable energy projects. AFP