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News Australia - East Timor Friendship Association (SA) Inc. Timorese war criminal in Australia                 Joanna Ximenes, an East Timorese woman living in Sydney, has found the man responsible for the death of her brother in her neighbourhood.  She has alerted the Immigration Minister & Department & PM Rudd.  Guy Campos was convicted of kidnapping 11-year-old Francisco Ximenes & of torture leading to death in 1979.  Campos was a long-term, high-level collaborator with the Indonesian military.  Naldo Rei, author of “Resistance:  a childhood fighting for East Timor”, identified Campos as having beaten him with an iron bar until he was unconscious.   Campos came to Australia on a World Youth Day visa & stayed on for a holiday.  The Immigration Department said it was not aware of Campos being wanted for charges or convicted of war crimes; it referred the allegations to Australian Federal Police.  Campos did not appear on any international watch list because there have never been any judicial enquiries into crimes committed during the Indonesian occupation.  The UN Serious Crimes Unit deals only with the crimes of 1999.                 Clinton Fernandes, a former major in the Australian army (ADF) and intelligence analyst on East Timor for ADF, now senior lecturer in strategic studies at UNSW, says the identification is positive.  East Timorese MP Jose Teixeira has asked Australian authorities to consider prosecuting Campos – if it is left to the heavily-burdened Timorese justice system it almost certainly won’t be dealt with in a timely and just manner.  The AFP has not yet responded.  Campos is here on a 90-day visa.   Timor activist injured                 Long-term Timor activist Rob Wesley Smith was badly injured in an accident in September when a gust of wind caught some scrap iron he was shifting at Nhulunbuy, NT.  He suffered 9 broken ribs & bruising to the brain.  He was rushed to Darwin Hospital, where doctors induced a coma.  He is now recovering in Darwin Hospital.  He is able to read letters & emails, & tests show substantial improvement in his condition.  News of his recovery is at: http://www.shoalhaven.net.au/~mwsmith/wesaga.html     UN continues 1999 investigations                 The UN will complete investigating 400 cases of bloodshed after the 1999 referendum – through its Serious Crimes Unit.  The governments of East Timor & Indonesia declared the issue closed after the findings of their joint truth commission.  The UN had boycotted the commission.  The UN will proceed with prosecutions where possible – Indonesia has so far refused all extraditions.   Retired generals seek election                 Indonesia’s army (TNI) is officially excluded from elections, but many retired officers are standing in next year’s parliamentary elections.  Some of the worst human rights offenders are standing for president:  Wiranto, Sutyoso & Prabowo (Suharto’s son-in-law).   There is a common view in TNI that the army is the only force able to safeguard the country.     Defamation to be decriminalised                 The government has announced that it will remove the Defamation Law from the penal code   & treat violation as a civil case.   Journalists hailed it as a crucial step towards free speech. Most return home                 Most internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home from camps as internal security improves.  22 camps in Dili have been closed, including 3 of the biggest 4 camps.  In 2006, 150,000 people fled to the mountains or to IDP camps in Dili when violence flared between police and army forces.  There are 30,000 still living in Dili’s 28 remaining camps.  Returnees receive a recovery package of at least US$500.   Reinado carried Indonesian ID                 Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was carrying an Indonesian citizenship card when he was shot dead in President Ramos Horta’s compound on February 11th.  This could have enabled him to flee over the border after the early morning attack on the President & PM.  The Indonesian Embassy denied the card was genuine.  It was allegedly issued in 2007 by an Indonesian TV station so that Reinado could cross the border for a TV interview.                 Reinado’s gunshot wounds show blackening & burning, indicating he was shot at point-blank range.  Reinado’s companion, Leopoldino, was shot through the back of the head.  Reinado appears to have gone to Horta’s compound in desperation after Horta’s promise of amnesty seemed to have collapsed.  Horta didn’t have the power to grant amnesty, & was under strong political pressure not to do Reinado any favours.  Reinado had lost most of his support when many of the military petitioners went to Dili for negotiations with the government.  Ramos Horta is fully recovered from his serious bullet wounds.   (Updated on Oct 18 2008)        © AETFA 2005      ---      Created as part of the CommunityWebs project         hits since 24/3/05