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Ramos Horta: UN Security Council Will Reject Human Rights Court
Wednesday, 03 August, 2005 | 21:59 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Dili, East Timor:East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta has said he is convinced that none of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members would accept the presence of an International Human Rights Court for human rights violation cases in East Timor.

Currently, the world is facing problems in many countries, including Iraq, the Sudan and Afghanistan as well as African countries.

“With this number of international problems like that, I’m convinced that none of the UNSC members will bother establishing an International Tribunal for human rights violation cases in East Timor,” insisted Horta.

He said he was also convinced that the UNSC members were not willing to accept any recommendation regarding the establishment of an International Tribunal in East Timor.

If they are willing to accept the presence of an International Tribunal, Horta said, all parties will state their support.

“So, do not just force Indonesia to arrest criminals to be tried in East Timor,” he continued.

Because of this, Horta said he only considered the establishment of an International Tribunal to be an academic discourse.

“But, this is not a brilliant idea,” he said.
Therefore, Horta added, the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKP) was only an option to seek the truth and provide a good example for the international community.

“The establishment of the KKP Commission is a good idea and will be able to help other countries carry out reconciliation. This could be a good basis for East Timor and Indonesia to establish the Commission,” he said. (Alexandre Assis-Tempo News Room)