East Timor finally became an independent state on 20 May this year. In its continuing quest for justice for the victims of the many human rights violations that took place during the period of the Indonesian occupation, it has pressed its claim for an international criminal tribunal and for criminal trials both in Indonesia and in East Timor itself. It has also established a Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, which has recently begun work. This paper considers what the East Timorese Commission can hope to achieve and examines whether any lessons should be drawn by it from the experience of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
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Caleb Jenkins (2002) studied this question.