[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 91 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                        Calendar No. 67
107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 91

 Condemning the murder of a United States citizen and other civilians, 
  and expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the failure of the 
 Indonesian judicial system to hold accountable those responsible for 
                             the killings.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2001

 Mr. Nelson of Florida (for himself, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. 
 Harkin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

                              June 5, 2001

   Reported by Mr. Helms, with an amendment and an amendment to the 
                                preamble
[Strike the preamble and all after the resolving clause and insert the 
                        part printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning the murder of a United States citizen and other civilians, 
  and expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the failure of the 
 Indonesian judicial system to hold accountable those responsible for 
                             the killings.

<DELETED>Whereas on September 6, 2000, a paramilitary mob in the West Timor town 
        of Atambua killed 3 United Nations aid workers, including United States 
        citizen Carlos Caceres;
Whereas Caceres and the other victims were stabbed and hacked to death with 
        exceptional brutality, and their bodies were then set on fire and 
        dragged through the streets;
Whereas Caceres, an attorney originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, whose family 
        now resides in the State of Florida, had e-mailed a plea for help saying 
        that ``the militias are on their way'', and that ``we sit here like 
        bait'';
Whereas on May 4, 2001, an Indonesian court in Jakarta meted out only token 
        sentences to the murderers of Carlos Caceres and the other United 
        Nations workers, and failed to allot any punishment whatsoever to the 
        Indonesian military commanders alleged to have sanctioned this attack;
Whereas these token sentences have been condemned as ``wholly unacceptable'' by 
        United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, and described by the 
        Department of State as acts that ``call into question Indonesia's 
        commitment to the principle of accountability'';
Whereas the self-confessed killer of Carlos Caceres, a pro-government militia 
        member named Julius Naisama, was sentenced to spend not more than 20 
        months in jail, and remarked afterwards, ``I accept the sentence with 
        pride'';
Whereas the murders of Carlos Caceres and the other United Nations workers fit a 
        pattern of killings perpetrated or sanctioned by the Indonesian military 
        in Aceh, Irian Jaya, and other parts of the Indonesia, both during and 
        since the end of the Suharto regime;
Whereas, despite Indonesian government promises of judicial accountability, 
        since the initiation of democratic rule in Indonesia in 1998, no senior 
        military official has been put on trial for human rights abuses, 
        extrajudicial killings, torture, or incitement to mob violence; and
Whereas the Government of Indonesia could have prevented both the murder of the 
        United Nations workers and the subsequent miscarriage of justice if the 
        Government had--

</DELETED>    (1) upheld its explicit commitment, made after the August, 
1999 referendum in East Timor, to ensure that Indonesian military forces 
would safeguard United Nations workers and Timorese refugees from attacks 
by the paramilitary militias who had killed approximately 1,000 East 
Timorese civilians in the preceding weeks;

</DELETED>    (2) brought charges of murder or manslaughter against the 6 
men who proudly admitted to killing the United Nations workers in an 
unprovoked attack, rather than only the lesser charge of conspiring to 
foment violence; and

</DELETED>    (3) brought charges against senior military commanders who, 
according to the United Nations, the Department of State, and the 
Government of Indonesia itself, are suspected of arming and directing the 
paramilitary militias responsible for the carnage in East Timor: Now, 
therefore, be it

    </DELETED>Whereas on September 6, 2000, a paramilitary mob in the 
            West Timor town of Atambua brutally killed 3 United Nations 
            aid workers, including United States citizen Carlos 
            Caceres, in an unprovoked attack;
    Whereas Caceres, an attorney originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, 
            whose family now resides in the State of Florida, had e-
            mailed a plea for help saying that ``the militias are on 
            their way,'' and that ``we sit here like bait'' before he 
            and the others were killed;
    Whereas on May 4, 2001, an Indonesian court in Jakarta handed down 
            only token sentences to the murderers of Carlos Caceres and 
            the other United Nations workers, and failed to allot any 
            punishment to the Indonesian military personnel alleged to 
            have sanctioned this attack;
    Whereas these token sentences were condemned as ``wholly 
            unacceptable'' by United Nations Secretary General Kofi 
            Annan, and described by the Department of State as acts 
            that ``call into question Indonesia's commitment to the 
            principle of criminal accountability'';
    Whereas the self-confessed killer of Carlos Caceres, a pro-
            government militia member named Julius Naisama, was 
            sentenced to spend not more than 20 months in jail, and 
            remarked afterwards, ``I accept the sentence with pride'';
    Whereas the murders of Carlos Caceres and the other United Nations 
            workers fit a pattern of killings perpetrated, sanctioned, 
            or condoned by certain elements within the Indonesian 
            military in Timor, both during and since the end of the 
            Suharto regime;
    Whereas, despite the stated intent of the Government of Indonesian 
            to put into place a system of increased judicial 
            accountability, since the initiation of democratic rule in 
            Indonesia in 1998, no senior military official has been put 
            on trial for human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, 
            torture, or incitement to mob violence; and
    Whereas the Government of Indonesia could probably have prevented 
            both the murder of the United Nations workers and the 
            subsequent miscarriage of justice if the government had--
            (1) upheld its explicit commitment, made after the August, 
        1999, referendum in East Timor, to ensure that Indonesian 
        military forces would safeguard United Nations workers and 
        Timorese refugees from attacks by the paramilitary militias on 
        the island who had killed approximately 1,000 East Timorese 
        civilians in the preceding weeks;
            (2) brought charges of murder or manslaughter against the 6 
        men who admitted to killing the United Nations workers, rather 
        than only the lesser charge of conspiring to foment violence; 
        and
            (3) brought charges against senior military commanders who, 
        according to the United Nations, the Department of State, and 
        the Government of Indonesia itself, are suspected of arming and 
        directing the paramilitary militias responsible for the carnage 
        on Timor: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, <DELETED>That (a) the Senate--
        <DELETED>    (1) condemns the brutal murder of Carlos Caceres, 
        a United States citizen;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) decries the inadequate sentences given by the 
        Indonesian judicial system to the self-confessed killers of the 
        3 United Nations aid workers;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) calls on the Government of Indonesia to indict 
        and bring to trial the senior military commanders described in 
        a September 1, 2000, statement by the Government of Indonesia 
        itself, as suspects in the mass killings following the August, 
        1999 East Timor referendum; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) offers condolences to the family, friends, and 
        colleagues of Carlos Caceres and the other victims of the 
        September 6, 2000, attack.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) It is the sense of the Senate that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the President should, at every appropriate 
        meeting with officials of the Government of Indonesia, stress 
        the importance of ending the climate of impunity which shields 
        those individuals, especially senior members of the Indonesian 
        military, suspected of perpetrating, collaborating in, or 
        covering up extra judicial killings, torture, and other abuses 
        of human rights; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the President should consider the willingness 
        of the Government of Indonesia to make rapid and substantive 
        progress in judicial reform when determining the level of 
        financial support provided by the United States to Indonesia, 
        whether directly or through international financial 
        institutions.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy 
of this resolution to the President.</DELETED>
    That (a) the Senate--
            (1) condemns the brutal murder of Carlos Caceres, a United 
        States citizen, and the other United Nations aid workers, and 
        offers condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues;
            (2) decries the inadequately disproportionate sentences 
        handed down by the Indonesian court to the self-confessed 
        killers of the United Nations aid workers;
            (3) calls on the prosecutorial organs of the Government of 
        Indonesia to indict and bring to trial the senior military 
        commanders described in a September 1, 2000, statement by that 
        government as suspects in the mass killings following the 
        August, 1999, East Timor referendum.
    (b) It is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) officials of the Department of State should, at every 
        appropriate meeting with officials of the Government of 
        Indonesia, stress the importance of ending the climate of 
        impunity that shields those individuals, including senior 
        members of the Indonesian military, suspected of perpetrating, 
        collaborating in, or covering up extra-judicial killings and 
        abuses of human rights in Indonesia; and
            (2) the President should consider the willingness of the 
        Government of Indonesia to make substantive progress in 
        judicial reform, and in the criminal accountability of those 
        responsible for human rights abuse on the island of Timor, 
        among those factors taken into account when determining the 
        level of financial support provided by the United States to 
        Indonesia, whether directly or through international financial 
        institutions.
    Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this 
resolution to the President.




                                                        Calendar No. 67

107th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               S. RES. 91

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 Condemning the murder of a United States citizen and other civilians, 
  and expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the failure of the 
 Indonesian judicial system to hold accountable those responsible for 
                             the killings.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              June 5, 2001

      Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble