Muladi Makes Statement to East Timor KKP
Thursday, 25 May, 2006 | 13:37 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Former Minister of Justice, Muladi SH, on Wednesday (24/5) made a statement in front of the Commission for Truth and Friendship in Denpasar, Bali.

As an expert in criminal law, he was repeatedly asked for his opinion regarding human rights court.

Then Muladi revealed that the option to hold the poll was part of the growing spirit of democracy.

“It was an extraordinary decision made by Habibie when we were experiencing a multidimensional crisis,” he stressed.

The decision was taken after the first option for an extended referendum was rejected by the people of East Timor.

Based on this decision, the government prepared a contingency plan without taking into account the results of the referendum.

“It was not as a defense in case we lost, but because whoever won and whoever lost, there would definitely be a problem,” he emphasized.

In addition, according to him, the conflict as seen from the government's point of view was a horizontal conflict, which has been rooted ever since East Timor became a part of Indonesia.

That is why Muladi denied that any crimes at that time had been organized or planned.

Instead they were individual or organized crimes that did not involve either the Indonesian government or the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Rofiqi Hasan