Indonesia/US: General ordered to pay $66m by US court Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Sanjoy Mahajan Three articles on the same topic, from the New York Times, the Independent (London) and the Guardian (London). In deference to our holy war on those who harbour terrorists, none of the articles mention that the US trained and funded the Indonesian death squads for over 30 years. But at least the Independent and Guardian articles give other useful details. No prize for guessing which paper has the least coverage, and begins by quoting the murderer's denial. -Sanjoy New York Times 6 October 2001, p. A6 World Briefing Asia/Pacific: Indonesia: General Held Liable In Atrocities By Seth Mydans (NYT) An Indonesian general, Johnny Lumintang, denied any guilt in the human rights violations in East Timor in 1999. On Thursday, in a suit filed by six East Timorese plaintiffs, a federal court in the United States found him liable for $66 million in damages for his role in atrocities there. Seth Mydans (NYT) http://www.nytimes.com ============================================================ The Independent (London) 5 October 2001, p. 15 General ordered to pay out over Timor abuses by Andrew Buncombe In Washington Lumintang: Ordered to pay damages of $ 66m AN INDONESIAN general whose involvement in "gross human rights violations" in East Timor was first revealed by The Independent has been ordered by a court to pay damages of $ 66m. Lt General Johny Lumintang was found guilty by a US federal court of systematic abuse during the 1999 UN-organised independence referendum in which at least 2,000 East Timorese were killed. He was ordered to pay punitive damages of $ 10m (pounds 6.7m) to six plaintiffs, and lawyers are now investigating whether the general has assets in the US. In his judgement, Judge Alan Kay wrote: "It has been established ... that Lumintang has responsibility for the actions against plaintiffs and a larger pattern of gross human rights violations. "(He) - along with other high-ranking members of the Indonesian military - planned, ordered, and instigated acts carried out by subordinates to terrorise and displace the East Timorese population ... and to destroy East Timor's infrastructure following the vote for independence." The ruling said the general was "both directly and indirectly responsible for human rights violations". The action was brought by the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) who served Mr Lumintang with the writ when he appeared in Washington last year to give a speech to the US-Indonesian society. In 1999, Lumintang, as vice chief of staff, was second in command of the Indonesian army. He is currently serving as secretary general of the Ministry of Defence. The ETAN spokesman, John Miller, said: "This sends a very strong message to past and future perpetrators of human rights abuses that they will be held accountable." During the hearing, several plaintiffs travelled to the US to give evidence of torture and abuse at the hands of militia and Indonesian soldiers. One man told how his brother had been killed and his father injured in post-election attacks. Much of the evidence that enabled the case to be brought was initially revealed by The Independent's Asia correspondent, Richard Lloyd Parry, who uncovered a document found by a local human rights group in the East Timor capital, Dili. It consisted of an order to implement "repressive/coercive measures" and a plan to "move to the rear/evacuate if (independence) is chosen". A subsequent UN Commission of Inquiry and an Indonesian government investigation found that senior Indonesian officers orchestrated systematic human rights violations after the referendum, in which almost 80 per cent of Timorese voted for independence. ============================================================ Guardian (London) 6 October 2001, p. 19 General to pay for crimes in E Timor by John Aglionby in Jakarta A US federal court has awarded six East Timorese Dollars 66m (pounds 45m) damages against a senior Indonesian general they accuse of crimes against humanity. It was the the first successful civil case brought against a senior Indonesian officer for the slaughter and forced evacuation of East Timorese before and after their independence referendum in August 1999. Judge Alan Kay said in a written judgment released in Washington on Thursday that Lieutenant-General Johny Lumintang, then army deputy chief of staff, was responsible for numerous abuses. He said that he and other high-ranking officers "planned, ordered, and instigated acts carried out by subordinates to terrorise and displace the East Timorese population . . . and to destroy East Timor's infrastructure". The case was brought on behalf of six unidentified East Timorese or their estates. Each was awarded Dollars 10m in punitive damages and compensation up to Dollars 1.75m. They are unlikely to get any money unless Gen Lumintang returns to the US, where he was served with a writ in March last year, or the court, which heard the case in his absence, seizes any assets he has there. The court could, however, issue an international arrest warrant which could be enforced if he ever left Indonesia. It is thought he was chosen as the defendant because he often travelled to America. He is not among the 24 people Jakarta has indicted for crimes in East Timor in 1999. Special report at www.guardian.co.uk/indonesia ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytas-10.08.01-22:48:59-13768