Timor police chief cleared of abuses

As police chief, Silaen was responsible for security during the 1999 independence referendum

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A Jakarta court has acquitted the former Indonesian police chief in charge of East Timor of responsibility for human rights abuses during the mass violence that swept the territory three years ago.

Timbul Silaen was responsible for keeping security during East Timor's historic 1999 referendum on independence from Indonesia.

Indonesia's Human Rights Tribunal found Silaen not guilty of the charges, which included failing to stop the violence by ignoring abuses committed by officers under his command.

In its ruling on Thursday, the court also ordered the Indonesian government to pay for all of his legal fees.

Silaen, the last police chief in East Timor when it was under Indonesian rule, praised the ruling and denied police committed any rights abuses in 1999.

"I am thankful to God for granting me such a good outcome," Silaen said.

"It shows that there was not one witness, not one piece of evidence to prove that police committed rights abuses. So, we cannot possibly be responsible for rights abuses that never occurred."

Evidence 'ignored'

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Human rights groups believe much of the 1999 violence in East Timor was instigated and carried out by Indonesia's armed forces, including the military and police.

In a joint statement issued on Thursday, Amnesty International and the Judicial System Monitoring Programme expressed their grave disappointment over the finding.

In the statement, both organizations blamed Indonesian prosecutors for failing to bring effective prosecutions against the accused, saying relevant evidence was ignored and cases were presented to deliberately fail to prove the violations that occurred in the former Indonesian territory.

There was "a succession of serious procedural and other failures which meant that the trials did not achieve the objectives of delivering justice and revealing the truth about the extent of the involvement of members of the Indonesian security forces and civilian authorities in perpetrating crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in East Timor in 1999," the statement said.

Governor 'guilty'

The verdict comes a day after the same court found East Timor's former governor Abilio Soares guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to three years in jail. (Full story)

Soares rejected Wednesday's guilty verdict, saying the court was making him a "scapegoat."

The three-year sentence is much lighter than the 10-year sentence originally asked for by prosecutors.

Dili, East Timor 1999: Much of the territory's infrastructure was destroyed by rampaging militias

East Timor voted to break away from Indonesia in through a 1999 referendum plagued by violence.

Pro-Indonesia militias, backed by the Indonesian military, embarked on a campaign of violence prior to the vote intended to swing the vote in favor of staying part of Indonesia.

Nonetheless an overwhelming majority voted for independence, after which the militias embarked on a "scorched earth" campaign that razed approximately 80 percent of East Timor's infrastructure, killed hundreds and forced hundreds of thousands into refugee camps.

International observers have been closely watching the ongoing Timor tribunals.

Indonesia has been threatened with an international rights tribunal if its courts failed to meet expectations of the international community.

The Democratic Republic of East Timor was officially established in May this year, after the United Nations administered the tiny, half-island region following the 1999 violence.

In addition to Silaen and Soares, several mid-ranking Indonesian military officers are also on trial.