Faith, Hope and Justice

November 19, 2009

By Steve Holland

When the militia entered the church, Sister Elsa says ‘great evil took hold of them’. When they left, ‘a river of blood flowed from the church’.

‘They had been praying in the church. Everybody was inside praying and then the militia opened the door,’ she says. ‘They banged on the door, and the door just opened. They started to kill all the people around…The militia said “this is your present for independence.”’

Survivors say the massacre was not confined to the church. Those who fled to another building, an unfinished cathedral in the church grounds, were pushed to their deaths from rafters they had climbed into to escape their attackers.

Armed with simple tools, builders now work to repair the church on the hill overlooking the town of Suai, home to about 20,000 people. In the searing heat, the men labour in bursts, sifting dirt to make concrete, hoisting huge rollers above their heads to paint the high roof. The church and most of the buildings within the compound were almost completely destroyed by fire during the militia’s attack and the decade of deep poverty that followed independence has hindered repairs.

Sister Elsa hoped the reconstruction of the building would be complete in time for the country’s 10-year independence vote celebrations, but the anniversary came and went, and the Church is still not ready for worship. Clasping her hands together, she says ‘next year, we hope for next year.’

Far from Suai, on the other side of the island, behind the walls and razor wire of the United Nations compound in Dili, Louis Gentile, the UN’s Human Rights Representative in Tinor-Leste, also wants justice.

He voices his concerns about Bere’s release and says his freedom has implications that reach far beyond Suai and Timor-Leste.

‘Why do we care so much? Because the whole effort is to deter these crimes in the future, to try and make sure people who perpetrate these crimes, especially those who are involved at a more senior level, are brought to justice,’ he says.

‘And if they aren’t, we know the cycle will continue around the world and that these kinds of violations continue–that the international community is still not able to stop many of these things even when they are ongoing. And that’s a failure of the whole international community.’

Bere, a school teacher before East Timorese voted for independence, is said to have gotten along well with his students. He was a strong supporter of Indonesian rule and it’s believed he was greatly angered by the annexation of East Timor. The half island nation had already voted for independence when he allegedly led his militia across the border. The attack on Suai was brutal revenge.

In 2003 the UN’s Serious Crimes Unit indicted Bere, along with 13 other of the militia, with crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, enforced disappearance, torture, inhumane acts, rape, deportation and persecution. But Bere is yet to stand trial.

‘It’s very sad, and these people have waited 10 years,’ Gentile says.

‘They were beginning to give up there would be any justice at all and they managed to be in a situation when one of the alleged perpetrators of the Suai Massacre was within the hands of authorities. There was the possibility of fair trial.’

The return of Bere to Indonesia all but obliterates the possibility of a fair trial in Timor-Leste. Hundreds of people accused of war crimes there live freely in Indonesia.

‘If there isn’t going to be justice in Timor-Leste, if there isn’t going to be justice in Indonesia, then an international option has to be considered,’ Gentile says.

The establishment of an international tribunal to hear the case against Bere is one of the last resorts for those who stress the importance of justice for the Laksaur Militia’s victims and the country.

Charlie Sheiner, of Timor-Leste monitoring organisation Lao Hamutuk, agrees with Gentile’s view on the necessity of justice and supports the idea of an international tribunal to bring to account those responsible for atrocities before and after independence.