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Annan praises Indonesia's probe on E Timor bloodshed

JAKARTA: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday praised Indonesia's investigation into the bloodshed that swept East Timor last year and which has already forced one top general out of the cabinet.

"I'm very pleased that Indonesia has taken on the responsibilities to ensure that those responsible for the atrocities in East Timor will be made accountable," he told reporters after arriving in Jakarta for talks with President Abdurrahaman Wahid and other senior government leaders.

"What is important is that we engage in a judicial process," he added.

On Monday, Wahid suspended former armed forces chief General Wiranto from cabinet pending the outcome of an investigation by the attorney-general's office into the Timor violence.

Wiranto was in charge of the military when pro-Jakarta militias backed by Indonesia troops went on a systematic spree of killing and destruction last September after East Timorese voted overwhelmingly to throw off Indonesia's rule.

In Singapore on Monday Annan said there would be no need for an international human rights tribunal on East Timor if Indonesia brought those responsible to trial.

An Indonesian human rights inquiry handed down its findings two weeks ago, implicating 33 people, including Wiranto and five other generals in the violence.

The attorney-general's investigation is expected to take about three months.

U.N-mandated foreign troops moved in to the former Portuguese colony to restore peace in September and a fully fledged U.N peacekeeping operation will take over the territory within a few weeks.

Analysts said Wahid will be unable to resist domestic and foreign pressure for Wiranto to face trial over the East Timor atrocities, but they also said his offer of a pardon may help keep the lid on the country's factious military.

Annan is on his first visit to Indonesia and he will also visit East Timor where he has said he would assess what could be done to speed up the U.N. operation.

Security forces chased away about 100 protesters who were pelting the U.N. building in Jakarta with stones, tomatoes and rotten eggs in front of the United Nations Office in Jakarta.

At least five of the protesters were arrested, a police officer said.

They were protesting against the U.N.'s involvement in East Timor, saying it had helped rig the vote last August in which some 80 percent of the population voted to end 23 years of Indonesian rule.-Reuters