Timor urged to close loophole for war criminals  Timor urged to
close loophole for war criminals  By agency reporter 30 Jun 2010
Human rights groups are urging Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor)
to close a legal loophole allowing war crimes and crimes against
humanity committed during the 1975-1999 Indonesian occupation to
go unpunished.  ‘Timor-Leste; Justice in the Shadow’, an Amnesty
International report released this week on the country’s latest
Penal Code, documents how the law allows amnesties that would
prevent trials of people suspected of war crimes or crimes
against humanity.  Without a ban on such amnesties, Timor-Leste
is not fulfilling its obligations under the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, to which it acceded in 2002.
“Survivors of decades of human rights violations in Timor-Leste
are demanding justice and reparations, but the authorities’
routine use of amnesties, pardons and similar measures has
created a culture of impunity,” said Isabelle Arradon, Amnesty’s
Researcher on