Timor-Leste: Asia Watch Investigates Killings by Indonesian Forces

Asia Watch has studied the preliminary report of the National Commission of Inquiry prepared by the seven-person team appointed by President Suharto to investigate the killings in Dili, East Timor on November 12, 1991, when Indonesian armed forces opened fire on unarmed demonstrators. It has also reviewed the Indonesian press covering the two and a half week long investigation and interviewed people in Dili at the time the investigation was taking place. Based on these sources, Asia Watch concludes that the National Commission's investigation was fatally flawed by the Commission's government ties and by the lack of experience of those involved in conducting investigations of this kind.