Inquiry Told of Crucial Timor Letter

AUSTRALIA was overzealous and "gung-ho" towards East Timor, former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas has said at an inquiry aimed at healing the wounds left by the bloody aftermath of Timor's independence.Mr Alatas said he did not blame Prime Minister John Howard for the bloodshed around the 1999 independence vote, but claimed a letter from Mr Howard to then Indonesian president B. J. Habibie provoked Indonesia's about-face on holding the referendum.

The letter, which described a change in Australia's position towards holding an independence vote, was not the "bone of contention", Mr Alatas said yesterday."It was rather the spirit of overzealousness of Australia suddenly sending troops and the largest contingent. Sometimes it's a gung-ho attitude."Mr Alatas, who is a foreign policy adviser to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was the first witness before the Commission of Truth and Friendship, which is holding hearings in Bali. He said he was not aware of evidence the Indonesian military was behind much of the slaughter that took place.But witnesses later gave graphic accounts of military members ordering the murder of Timorese civilians. About 1400 people were killed before and after the pro-independence vote.

The commission was established by Dr Yudhoyono and East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao, hoping their nations could move on from the bloody events. It will grant amnesty to perpetrators if they tell the truth.Mr Gusmao and Dr Habibe are expected to give evidence before the inquiry. The testimony of former Indonesian military chief Wiranto is also widely anticipated.The commission's brief is to promote reconciliation and recommend amnesties and compensation.

It is unclear if it may recommend prosecutions of witnesses judged to have been untruthful.Emilio Bareto told the commission how he narrowly escaped death during a massacre of more than 50 civilians seeking refuge in a church compound on the outskirts of the town of Liquica in April 1999.Mr Bareto said he saw an Indonesian military officer, a member of his family, order local militiamen to begin firing on about 2000 people sheltering in the compound. "He was not armed, he was in civilian clothes," Mr Bareto said. "He gave the order to attack."Before being slashed across his head with a machete, Mr Bareto said, he saw several people stabbed to death.The local military commander was standing about 50 metres away from the compound, cursing those who escaped.The commission's public hearings will continue until June.Militia leader Enrico Guterres, who is serving a 10-year term for his role in the killings, is to appear.

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