Timor militia chief 'a hero'

Eurico Guterres: "[I am] a son of the nation"

More than 100 Indonesian nationalists have held a protest to call for an end to the trial of a notorious East Timorese militia leader.

I defended the national flag... I do not regret anything

Eurico Guterres

Protesters from three organisations gathered on Tuesday in Jakarta outside the trial of Eurico Guterres - who has been linked to the 1999 massacres in East Timor.

They shouted "Free Eurico Guterres" and "Viva Eurico Guterres!".

Guterres was feted like a hero by supporters

The militia leader has been charged with inciting violence and ordering his men to take back weapons handed over to police. He is not facing charges over the massacres.

Correspondents say there are doubts over whether he would serve any prison sentence - which could be up to five years.

'Indonesian hero'

A lawyer for Mr Guterres told the court that his client should be hailed as an Indonesian hero.

The independence of the judiciary here in this case would be a litmus test

UN official in Jakarta

"The charges are very weak because Eurico, as a fighter, has to have weapons to defend himself," lawyer Suhardi Sumomulyono said.

"Eurico struggled to defend Indonesia's sovereignty in East Timor."

After the trial session adjourned, Mr Guterres was carried on the shoulders of his supporters.

More than 1,000 people died in East Timor after the independence vote

"I was defending the red and white flag [of Indonesia] in East Timor," he said.

"The government has been colluding with foreign parties, merely to avoid the threat of an economic embargo," he said, adding that the charges were "trumped up".

He accused Indonesia's attorney-general of double standards - "shackling a patriot" such as himself, but allowing the son of former President Suharto, who had robbed the nation, to go free.

UN monitoring trial

More than 1,000 people were murdered by pro-Jakarta militia and almost every town burned to the ground in East Timor after the vote for independence.

Guterres' supporters call him a patriot and a hero

There has been strong international pressure on the Indonesian Government to deal with those behind the violence.

A United Nations official in Jakarta told the BBC that the trial of Mr Guterres - the first militia leader to come to court - was being monitored closely.

"The independence of the judiciary here in this case would be a litmus test," said Lakhan Mehrotra.

"If they want to avoid anything happening on the international plain they have to appear to be totally free, totally fair, totally independent."

The UN has threatened to set up an international human rights tribunal unless those responsible are prosecuted soon.