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Gusmao Testifies to East Timor Truth and Friendship Commission
Real estate news By Chad Bouchard
24 September 2007
East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has testified before the Indonesia-East Timor Truth and Friendship Commission. The hearing marks the first day in a week-long session in East Timor's capital, Dili. The commission is gathering testimony on the deadly violence that marred the birth of one of the world's youngest nations. Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao testified behind closed doors Monday on what he knew about the unrest that accompanied East Timor's vote to separate from Indonesian rule in 1999. Dozens of witnesses have testified in Jakarta and Bali about the violence, but this week's session, the fifth and final hearing, is the commission's first session in East Timor.
Indonesia and East Timor established the Truth and Friendship commission in 2005 with an eye toward reconciliation, but the panel does not have the power to prosecute those responsible for crimes. The United Nations accuses Indonesia of employing militias that took part in arson and violence that killed hundreds of people following East Timor's vote for independence. Associate Professor Damien Kingsbury from the School of International and Political Studies at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia says Mr. Gusmao and President Jose Ramos Horta have long supported building ties with Indonesia.
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