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Indonesian Foreign Minister: Release of Abilio to Affect International Opinion
Sunday, 07 November, 2004 | 21:19 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Indonesian foreign minister Nur Hassan Wirajuda has said that the decision of the Supreme Court to release former East Timor Governor Abilio Soares would greatly influence international public opinion about the judicial process in Indonesia.

According to Wirajuda, this ruling will add more argument to members of the international community who have had doubts regarding the credibility of the judicial process in Indonesia.

“Since the beginning, we have acknowledged that the judicial process of human rights ad hoc trials has been inadequate. But, we do not yet know what the end of this process will be,” he told reporters the State Palace, Jakarta, on Friday (05/11).

According to Wirajuda, several people consider the necessity for Indonesia to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the East Timor case.

As reported earlier, the Supreme Court granted the appeal request of former East Timorese governor Abilio Soares in the case of human rights violations in East Timor following the 1999 ballot.

In his ruling, the Supreme Court judges said that Soares was not proven of having committed any crime as charged.

Therefore, the Supreme Court discharged all charges against Soares and ordered his release from jail.
(Sapto Pradityo – Tempo News Room)