East Timor truth commission urges continued international support

Published: 2006-11-17

SYDNEY, Australia (CNS) -- An East Timor truth commission has recommended the international community continue financial assistance and training, including the strengthening of the judicial system and training of police, so that civil society in East Timor may develop. It also urges Indonesia to declassify documentation held by its security forces so that it is available for judicial processes and calls for reparations for the Timorese victims of torture, murder, rape and starvation and for costs of their ongoing medical care and treatment. The commission's report, "Chega!" -- Portuguese for "Enough!" -- was launched in Sydney Nov. 12, the 15th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre, when Indonesian troops fired upon a peaceful memorial procession to a cemetery that had turned into a pro-independence demonstration in Dili, East Timor. More than 271 East Timorese were killed that day. "Chega!" is a comprehensive report on human rights violations in East Timor from 1974 to 1999, the years of Indonesian occupation.

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