It is a clumsy Indonesian attempt to appease international outrage: Guterres is not charged with crimes against humanity, but with minor offences such as ‘inciting violence’ and ‘illegal weapons possession’. Few East Timorese were untouched by the violent crack-down of pro-Indonesian militias following a vote for independence in 1999. “People weren’t just killed, they were brutally killed and their bodies were mutilated”, says the UN’s Special War Crimes Investigator and tells of young pregnant women whose foetuses were ripped out as they lay dying. The killings were followed by forced displacement of thousands of civilians to West Timor, were they remained bargaining chips for the militias. Shocking flash-backs to serious crimes against humanity cast recent verdicts into sharp relief. Can there be peace without justice?

Produced by ABC Australia