[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 20, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6531-S6532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONDEMNATION OF MURDER IN INDONESIA

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 67, S. Res. 91.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (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.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign 
Relations with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble, as 
follows:

       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, 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.

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I, along with my colleagues 
Senators Feingold, Harkin, and Leahy, have introduced S. Res. 91, a 
resolution that condemns the brutal murder of Carlos Caceres, an 
American citizen, decries the inadequately disproportionate sentences 
given by the Indonesian judicial system to the self-confessed killers 
of the three U.N. aid workers, and offers condolences to the family, 
friends and colleagues of Carlos Caceres and the other victims of the 
September 6 attack.
  This resolution also expresses the sense of the Senate that:

       (1) the officials at the U.S. Department of State should, 
     at every appropriate meeting with officials of the Indonesian 
     government, stress the importance of ending the climate of 
     impunity which shields those individuals, including senior 
     members of the Indonesian military, suspected of 
     perpetrating, collaborating in, or covering up extrajudicial 
     killings, and other abuses of human rights.
       (2) the President should consider the willingness of the 
     government of Indonesia to make rapid and substantive 
     progress in judicial reform, and in the criminal 
     accountability of those responsible for human rights abuses 
     on the island of Timor, among those factors taken into 
     account when determining the level of U.S. financial support 
     provided to Indonesia, whether directly or through 
     international financial institutions.

  On September 6, 2000, a paramilitary mob killed three United Nations 
aid workers, including the United States citizen Carlos Caceres, in the 
West Timor town of Atambua. Mr. 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. Mr. 
Caceres previously had emailed a plea for help saying that ``The 
militias are on their way'' and that ``we sit here like bait.''
  Several weeks ago, an Indonesian court in Jakarta meted out only 
token sentences to the murderers of Carlos Caceres and the other U.N. 
workers, and failed to allot any punishment whatsoever to the 
Indonesian military commanders alleged to have sanctioned this attack. 
In addition, the self-confessed killer of Carlos Caceres, a pro-
government militia member was sentenced to spend no more than 20 months 
in jail, and remarked afterwards, ``I accept the sentence with pride.''

[[Page S6532]]

  The murders of Carlos Caceres and the other U.N. workers fit a 
pattern of killings perpetrated or sanctioned by the Indonesian 
military in Aceh, Irian Jaya, and other parts of the nation. Despite 
government promises of judicial accountability, since the initiation of 
democratic rule in Indonesia in 1998 no senior military official has 
yet been put on trial for human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, 
torture, or incitement of mob violence. I propose that the U.S. Senate 
go on record to 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 extrajudicial killings, torture, and other abuses of human 
rights. The Senate urges the President and Congress to make every 
effort to consider the need for reform when determining policy towards 
Indonesia.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee 
amendment be agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the 
preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment was agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 91), as amended, was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.

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