Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen, who led the police force in East Timor before its independence, was appointed the new head of police in Papua. Silaen was acquitted on human rights violations by a 2002 Indonesian tribunal that has been widely dismissed as a sham. Indonesia's Human Rights and Legal Aid Association said the appointment sends a message that senior officers would never be punished for rights abuses in East Timor.
