[Kabar-indonesia] ETAN: Indicted Indonesian General Leads Joint Military Exercise with U.S.

[John M Miller]

Contact: John M. Miller (718) 596 7668; (917) 690-4391 (cell)

Indicted Indonesian General Leads Joint Military Exercise with U.S.

April 26, 2007 - The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) 
today condemned the participation of Indonesian Major General Noer 
Muis in a joint U.S.-Indonesia military exercise this week. General 
Muis has been indicted for crimes against humanity in East Timor.

Photos of the general with U.S. Army, Pacific commander Lt. General 
John M Brown III are featured on the U.S. Army, Pacific website 
(http://www.usarpac.army.mil/news/GS2007/CGCheckProgress.htm) where 
Muis is described as co-director of a "command post" exercise, Garuda 
Shield, now taking place in West Java. It is scheduled to run from April 16-27.

"General Muis belongs in a courtroom, not a joint U.S.-Indonesia 
command center. The Bush administration has repeatedly stated that it 
supports accountability for the horrendous crimes committed in East 
Timor in 1999. Working with an accused mastermind of those crimes is 
a funny way to show it," said John M. Miller, ETAN's National Coordinator.

"That the U.S. Army should so proudly feature General Muis on its 
website, demonstrates the meaningless of administration pledges of 
vetting to keep Indonesian officers accused of human rights crimes 
from U.S. training programs and other direct cooperation," said Miller.

"This is further evidence that the administration's short-sighted 
rush to expand assistance to an unaccountable Indonesian military 
sacrifices human rights," he added.

Muis was tried and convicted for crimes against humanity by 
Indonesia's Ad Hoc Human Rights Court in 2003 for his role in brutal 
attacks on East Timor's Dili Diocese, East Timorese Bishop Belo's 
house and the Suai Church massacre in September 1999. His conviction 
and sentence of five years were overturned on appeal in that widely 
discredited process, in which all but one conviction was overturned.

A colonel at the time, Colonel Muis (variously spelled Nur Muis and 
Noer Moeis) became local military commander in East Timor two weeks 
prior to the August 30, 1999 independence referendum. In that 
capacity, he bears major responsibility for the atrocities committed 
by his troops and their militia proxies. Just before the referendum 
results were announced, he described contingency plans to evacuate up 
to a quarter-million East Timorese from their homeland, a plan that 
was soon forcibly implemented.

On February 24, 2003, Muis was indicted with other senior officers by 
the UN-backed serious crimes process in East Timor. The indictment 
states that Muis "failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to 
prevent the crimes being committed by his subordinates and he failed 
to take necessary and reasonable measures to punish perpetrators of 
those crimes," despite being "repeatedly informed" of those crimes. 
At least 1400 people died, hundreds of thousands were forcibly 
displaced, and most of East Timor's infrastructure was destroyed as 
the Indonesian military punished East Timor for its pro-independence vote.

Muis is currently commander of the 1st Infantry Division of the Army 
Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).


Additional information about Muis's role in 1999 can be found in the 
Masters of Terror database: http://www.villagechief.com/mot/Nur%20Muis.htm.

ETAN was formed in 1991. The U.S.-based organization advocates for 
democracy, justice and human rights for Timor-Leste and Indonesia. 
For more information see ETAN's web site: http://www.etan.org.

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John M. Miller         Internet: fbp at igc.org
National Coordinator
East Timor & Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)
PO Box 21873, Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873 USA
Phone: (718)596-7668      Fax: (718)222-4097
Mobile phone: (917)690-4391  Skype: john.m.miller
Web site: http://www.etan.org

Send a blank e-mail message to info at etan.org to find out
how to learn more about East Timor on the Internet

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