Wiranto

Wiranto ( born April 4, 1947 in Yogyakarta ) is a retired Indonesian General and was an unsuccessful presidential candidate of the long-term ruling party Golkar in the election of 2004.

As a former commander of the Indonesian Army Tentara Nasional Indonesia him accuse human rights organizations to have supported the paramilitary militias, to be in the summer of 1999 in East Timor for the displacement of more than 150,000 refugees in the western part of the island and the killing of thousands with responsibility.

Since May 2004 there is an arrest warrant by the authorities of East Timor against General Wiranto, who is ignored by the Indonesian authorities.

Life

As the son of a teacher of Javanese was born in the Sultanate of Yogyakarta and grew up in Surakarta. He attended a military school, which he successfully completed in 1968. In Manado, located in the inhabited mainly by Christians troubled province of North Sulawesi, he served from 1969 to 1976 for eight years as an officer of an infantry battalion. From 1980, Wiranto worked for five years in a Kostrad Brigade, part of a 25,000 -strong " strategic reserve unit of the army ," and from 1985 to 1989 in its corporate office.

As ruler Suharto appointed him in the same year for personal aides, he was thus able to establish a close bond with the wealthy family of the President, which has multi-billion dollar company in the country. In April 1993 he was appointed to the staff of the Military District of Greater Jakarta Kodam X / Jaya and took over the management from December 1994 ( " Pangdam Jaya ").

Wiranto took over the leadership of the strategically important Kostrad units ( " Pangkostrad " ) in April 1996, which also General Suharto came 30 years ago to power the island nation, and gave the command in June 1997 to the son of Suharto, General Prabowo Subianto. In August of the same year Wiranto took over the post of army chief of staff.

Control of the army

From 20 November 1998, he got the lead of Suharto ( " Pangab " ) on the ABRI and was thus at the same time Minister of Defence of Indonesia. As early May of the year riots against Suharto broke out, who was at the time in Egypt, he sent troops to the police and navy to take action against the rebels and dismissed on May 25 Prabowo Subianto the supreme commander of the Kopassus special forces and son in law of Suharto.

To examine allegations about the involvement of members of the special unit in kidnappings and torture of members of the reform movement, called General Wiranto on 3 August of the year a council. Until August 21 hearings were conducted in which the public was excluded. Three high-ranking Kopassus officers, including the commander Prabowo, then lost their posts. Defense Minister Wiranto confirmed an involvement of the special unit that had carried out the kidnappings in undercover operations. A military court sentenced on 6 April 1999 eleven members of Kopassus for abduction of nine pro-democracy activists with fines of up to 22 months in prison.

Under the new President Habibie, Wiranto was responsible for the military in Indonesia during the bloody climax of the Osttimorkonfliktes in September 1999. In February 2000, released him, Abdurrahman Wahid by the Office of the Supreme Commander of the armed forces.

Prosecution and presidential election

On the basis of UN Resolution 1273, the Transitional Administration of East Timor UNTAET had founded the "Serious Crimes Unit " (SCU ) in 1999, should pursue and investigate the crimes against humanity and genocide between 1 January and 25 October. The Indonesian authorities refused the court in East Timor as the country since independence officially known, so far all the support.

In her role as supervisors General Wiranto and seven other people were indicted in absentia on 23 February 2003 due to killings, deportations and persecutions in East Timor. A warrant of arrest issued a special court on 10 May 2004.

In the first round of the presidential election on 5 July 2004, Wiranto for Golkar received 22.18 percent of all votes and was eliminated. President Yudhoyono, who won the election in the second round, is considered protégé of General.

In January 2007, Wiranto founded his own political party Hanura.

Testimony before the CTF

In May 2007, Wiranto was asked about the violence in East Timor in 1999 before the joint Indonesian- East Timorese Commission for Truth and Friendship Commission CTF. He denied any connections to the pro-Indonesian militias. In the violence, it was not about human rights violations, but to simple criminal offenses. " The Quick courts have time and energy and it would have been clearly demonstrated that no gross human rights violations have taken place ," said Wiranto. He refused any responsibility for crimes under his command. Each soldier is responsible for his actions. In addition, the General, the UN criticized the fact that Indonesia had the responsibility for the security of the independence referendum. As to the militia said Wiranto, they were neither formed, nor been established, nor the military could have armed the militias or exercised control over them.