Jakarta - President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia said he would pardon former military chief Gen Wiranto if he were proven guilty of human rights abuses in East Timor, as the standoff between them eased yesterday. "He will be amnestied, pardoned, after he is convicted," if found guilty, Mr Wahid said in an interview with the Portuguese daily Diario de Noticias.
"Whatever his guilt, whatever his mistakes, he was the supreme commander and we will respect him," Mr Wahid said. Gen Wiranto, currently senior Security Minister, has ignored repeated calls by President Wahid to step down after a domestic rights inquiry held him and five other generals responsible for the terror in East Timor in September.
