More on the East Timor-Indonesia Truth Commission

The International Herald Tribune has a nice report on the increasing criticism of the East Timor-Indonesia Agreement to set up a Truth and Friendship Commission, which we discussed here. Here again we see a clash between the UN and human rights NGOs (who think the agreement could lead to impunity for human rights offenses) and efforts by two countries to settle lingering disputes from a very brutal civil war.

One interesting legal question: Can the UN force a war crimes tribunal on East Timor? The current agreement arguably violates UN Security Council resolutions requiring both countries to bring war crimes perpetrators to justice. The key player here (as always) will be the U.S., which is already trying to push the Truth Commission to get a little tougher and play ball with the UN.