Impunity for Human Rights Violations and its Consequences in Timor-Leste

Abstract

During the Indonesian occupation, various human rights violations were used as political weapons by the Indonesian military regime to suppress the Maubere (Definition: “Maubere was originally used by the Mambai, one of the poorest hill tribe people in Timor, to mean ‘friend’. The FRETILIN made the word a symbol of what their movement represented: to be a maubere … was to be a son of Timor. It came to symbolise the reassertion of Timorese culture and the struggle against poverty and colonial subordination” [Crockford, 2007].) people’s fight for independence. Following Indonesia’s withdrawal from Timor-Leste, the United Nations established a special body called the Special Panel for Serious Crimes to deal with the human rights abuses. This special body found that thousands of violations involving both Indonesian military and civilian officials had occurred. Unfortunately, the “Ad Hoc court” had no power to prosecute and hold those perpetrators accountable. This chapter discusses various cases of human rights violations, some of their potential causes with reference to historical impunity in Indonesia and Timor-Leste and the international justice mechanisms, which have failed to hold perpetrators accountable.