Jakarta ex-army chief indicted

Jakarta ex-army chief indicted

Indonesia has already refused to hand General Wiranto over

East Timor has indicted Indonesia's former military chief General Wiranto with crimes against humanity for his role in violence surrounding the fledgling nation's 1999 vote for independence.

Six other senior military officers and the former Indonesian Governor of East Timor, Abilio Soares, were also named in the indictment.

The accused men face counts of murder, deportation and persecution of pro-independence supporters.

The United Nations is assisting the prosecution process, although the indictments have been issued by East Timor's chief prosecutor.

Jakarta has refused to hand the men over.

"The court in East Timor is not an international tribunal," Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said.

"It is a national process that has limited jurisdiction within the territory of its jurisdiction.

"Therefore it does not have the ability to reach whoever is beyond its jurisdiction," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Murder allegations

Around 1,000 people - mostly pro-independence supporters - died during the violence sparked by East Timor's overwhelming vote for independence from Indonesia in August, 1999.

A UN document detailing the indictment said that the charges were based on more than 1,500 witness statements.

The indictment documents more than 280 murders and also details the deportation or forcible transfer of about 200,000 people to Indonesian West Timor.

Indonesia has set up its own human rights court.

But despite international criticism, General Wiranto and other top officers were not among those charged.

General Wiranto has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and has even been mentioned as a possible Indonesian presidential candidate in 2004.

But his luck may be running out, says the BBC's correspondent in Jakarta, Rachel Harvey.

Arrest warrants for the eight accused are being forwarded to the Attorney-General's office in Indonesia and to Interpol.

The warrants could be served if any of those indicted try to leave the country.

Nearly 150 people have so far been charged by the UN over violence in East Timor.

Indonesian forces invaded in 1975 and annexed the former Portuguese colony the following year.

The UN ran the half-island territory after the 1999 violence, and East Timor became an independent nation in May last year, although the UN still has a mission there.