WRITTEN QUESTION E-0921/03 by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission. East Timor — 1999 massacres; trial of those responsible; Indonesia; human rights.
Date: 2003-03-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU relations, East Timor, Indonesia, armed forces, crime against humanity, criminal liability, human rights, international human rights law, judicial proceedings

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/337

Does the Commission agree that Italy has failed to respect the rules of the internal market and the

2.
obligation of loyal cooperation laid down in Art.10 of the Treaty?

3. What action will the Commission take to rectify this situation?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(25 April 2003)

The Commission is aware that authorisation procedures existing for a certain number of products in all the
Member States risk to create problems to free movement of goods, often due to the time required by
national administrations to carry the procedure out even when these procedures are lightened as much as
possible.

The excessive delay for obtaining an answer to the request of authorisation in the case referred by the
Honourable Member is certainly regrettable, as it is regrettable the silence of the Italian authorities to
whom the Honourable Member requested clarifications twice. Therefore, the case will be registered as a
complaint.

In order to reinforce the administrative co-operation and directly involve Member States in handling
difficulties that their citizens and enterprises face for entering other domestic markets, a co-operation
network has been created to deal with administrative problems having a cross-border impact. This network
is called Solvit.

A short presentation of the mission of Solvit and some tips to contact the network are available at the
following address: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/solvit/index_en.htm).

The Commission considers that Solvit can efficiently deal with the problem the Honourable Member brings
to the attention of the Commission. Accordingly, the file will be transmitted to the Solvit network, that
will try to solve the problem within ten weeks.

The Commission will closely follow the development of the case.

(2004/C 88 E/0344)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0921/03

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Subject: East Timor (cid:1) 1999 massacres; trial of those responsible; Indonesia; human rights

On 12 March an Indonesian brigadier-general was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a special court
in Jakarta on charges of crimes against humanity, because he did prevent the massacres committed in East
Timor in 1999. At the time General Noer Muis held the rank of colonel and was the military commander
of East Timor.

The judicial process of
finding out who was responsible for the acts of oppression and genocide
perpetrated, encouraged or tolerated by the Indonesian forces is being called a ‘sham’ by international
human rights groups, because the accused do not include senior military commanders such as General
Wiranto, who was Commander of the Armed forces and Minister of Defence.

On 19 December 2002 the written question (E-3865/02 (1)) to the Council tabled by Jules Maaten and
Lousewies van der Laan asked ‘does the Council recognise that the trials on East Timor show, as the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights states, that Indonesia has not taken responsibility for
crimes against humanity in East Timor?’ The answer to the question is not yet known.

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8.4.2004

Since the court in question seems to have been set up as a result of international pressure exerted on the
Indonesian Government to ensure that those responsible for crimes committed in East Timor were
prosecuted and punished, can the Commission say:

(cid:1) whether it has followed the deliberations of the court closely; whether it can confirm that the then
Indonesian military leaders are not being charged; if so, whether it considers that this lends credibility
to the court and Indonesia’s declared intention to establish the truth and punish the guilty; or whether
it rather confirms the concern expressed by the Council in the earlier question of 12 June 2001
(E-1646/01 (2)) on the same subject ‘that recent judgements did not seem to meet international
standards of justice and fairness’;

(cid:1) will the Commission have information concerning the Indonesian Government’s ability to place the
military under civilian control? What information does it have regarding respect for human rights in
Indonesia;

(cid:1) might these issues have an impact on relations between the European Union and Indonesia? In
particular, might the Commission consider reviewing the projects for cooperation and development
with that country?

(1) OJ C 280 E, 21.11.2003, p. 30.
(2) OJ C 40 E, 14.2.2002, p. 70.

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 2003)

The Commission through its Delegation in Indonesia has been following closely, in co-ordination with
representatives of Union embassies, the proceedings of the Indonesian Ad-Hoc Human Rights Tribunal for
Crimes Committed in East Timor.

Brigadier General Noer Muis is among 18 Indonesian officials and militiamen who have been tried for the
violence which erupted before and after the referendum in East Timor in 1999. Noer Muis was sentenced
on 12 March 2003 to five years in jail for failing to prevent two fatal attacks against civilians.

The Tribunal of first instance has so far acquitted 12 defendants. Two lower-ranking officers and two
civilians have been sentenced to imprisonment ranging from three to ten years. The trials of two other
people are still in progress: Brigadier General Tono Suratman, Military Commander, and Major General
Adam Damiri, the former chief Bali based Udayana Military Command overseeing Bali, Nusa Tenggara and
East Timor. It is expected that the verdicts of these trials will be delivered in early May 2003.

On 21 August 2002, the Union issued a Declaration, following the delivery of the Tribunal’s first verdicts,
in which it expressed its concern ‘that the proceedings, so far, have not taken full account of the violence
that took place in East Timor in 1999’ and urged ‘the Indonesian authorities to ensure that the proceedings
of the Tribunal take place in conformity with the rule of law (cid:1) and in full respect of the international
human rights standards’.

The Union is reviewing the Tribunal’s activities constantly and may address this issue further, possibly on
the occasion of the issuing of the last expected verdict in early May 2003 and before the launch of the
appeals process.

The Commission feels that with the holding of the 1999 elections Indonesia has taken a further important
step in its transition from an autocratic regime to a fully-fledged democracy. The forthcoming Presidential
and Parliamentarian elections of 2004 will strengthen this process, notably as regards efforts to bring the
military under full civilian control. However, the Commission considers that much remains to be done in
this respect.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The Commission Delegation and the Member States embassies in Indonesia monitor the human rights
situation in this country in a thorough and continuous manner and report regularly to the Council Group
on Human Rights. The latest such report was prepared in spring 2002.

Human rights are a central plank in the enhanced political dialogue between the Union and Indonesia. The
Commission’s Country Strategy Paper (2002-2006) and National Indicative Programme (2002-2004) for
Indonesia puts a strong emphasis on the promotion of good governance and on the strengthening of the
judicial system and of human rights. Community-supported programmes in these important areas are
either ongoing or under preparation.

(2004/C 88 E/0345)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1180/03

by Marco Pannella (NI), Emma Bonino (NI),
Marco Cappato (NI), Gianfranco Dell’Alba (NI)
and Benedetto Della Vedova (NI) to the Commission

(1 April 2003)

Subject: Secret Vietnamese prison set up next to the Cambodian border for the detention of Montagnards

repatriated after having requested asylum; cases of arrest, torture and disappearance

Various independent observers have reported that the Vietnamese government has set up a secret prison
on the border with Cambodia in Mokdeng district, Pleiku province, where the 773rd military division and
the 721st military brigade are detaining 28 Montagnard (Degar) refugees repatriated by Cambodia.

On 12 February 2003, the Vietnamese police arrested, and took to the prison in Buonmathuot, N’Gran (39
years old, from Buon Dak R’la, Dak Mil district, Dak Lac province) because he was in possession of a
mobile phone which, according to the government, was used to maintain contacts with Montagnards in
the US; his physical condition is unknown.

On 13 February 2003, at about 10 p.m., the Vietnamese police arrested Y-Dhem Nie (36 years old, from
Buon Ea Kao, Buonmathuot district, Dak Lac province) because he had given food to another two Degars
who were in hiding in the jungle; his whereabouts and condition are unknown.

On 14 February 2003 the police arrested, in Buonmathuot, Y-Suar (33 years old, from Buon Jun Yuh, Dak
Mil district, Dak Lac province); his physical condition is unknown.

On 17 February 2003 Y-Yan Buon Ya (37) and H’Powel Nie (31), a married couple, fled into the jungle to
avoid being arrested by the security forces, leaving at home their two children H’Nong Nie (9) and Y-Le
Nie (6).

On 22 February 2003, at about 11 a.m., the Vietnamese police arrested and took to Buonmathuot prison
Y-Dhun Eban (42, from Buon Krue, Krong Ana district, Dak Lac province), who had gone into hiding to
avoid arrest. On the following day his sister H’Nget Eban and her husband Y-Lia Ken, both 28 years old,
were arrested and taken to Buonmathuot prison because they were suspected of having given assistance to
Y-Dhun Eban.

In view of the foregoing detailed information, would the Commission state:

1. whether it

intends to ask the Vietnamese Government

to explain why Montagnards are being

systematically arrested and maltreated by the security forces?

2. whether it intends to ask the Vietnamese authorities to grant international agencies such as UNHCR
and other NGOs full and immediate access to Vietnam’s Central Highlands and the regions on the
Cambodian border, where there is systematic abuse of human rights, as requested by the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights in its conclusions of 27 June 2000 and whether,
if the
Vietnamese government continues to deny such access, the Commission intends to denounce the
cooperation agreement signed with Vietnam, which is clearly conditional on respect for human rights
and democracy in Vietnam?