Rory, Indonesia- From the terrible events happening in East Timor, I am now beginning to believe that not only has Indonesia lost control of the situation, but that there is a power struggle between the politicians and the military underway right now...I'm sure that the Washington, D.C. policymakers are doing flips right now since Indonesia was supposed to be our "bulwark against Communism", not Serbian-style mass murderers
If you understand Indonesia society and how it is set up , Indonesia runs its army much like the Romans 2000 years ago in that the local Army units are expected to exploit the resources of the area in which they are stationed in order to make monies. Who makes the money in a collapsing dysfunctional society seems to be at the bottom of these events IMO... This is not good for the energy production in this Country...
Priests, nuns reported killed
in E. Timor
September 10, 1999
Web posted at: 1:42 a.m. HKT (1742 GMT)
In this story:
Militiamen reportedly targeting Catholic
church
U.N. delegation to visit East Timor
U.N. to leave core group in Dili
Signs violence diminishing
Father of independence leader reported to be
dead
RELATED STORIES, SITES
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) --
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
on Thursday stressed the need for
swift action to end the violence in East
Timor amid reports that
pro-Indonesian militiamen had killed
Catholic priests and nuns in the
former Portuguese colony.
Annan said he had indicated to
President B.J. Habibie and
Indonesian authorities, "that if they are
not able to bring this situation under
control in a relatively short time, all
efforts must be made to convince
them to accept help from the
international community in maintaining
law and order, and that we cannot
allow the chaotic situation in East
Timor to continue."
Annan told reporters at the United
Nations in New York that the
Indonesian government believes that
"with a bit of time, they will be able to
bring the situation under control."
Militiamen reportedly
targeting Catholic church
Diplomatic moves continued as
militiamen reportedly roamed the
streets of East Timor, targeting the
Catholic church in their attacks and
accusing the church of backing the
cause of independence from
predominantly Muslim Indonesia.
The Vatican's missionary news
service, Fides, quoted eyewitness
reports that 15 priests and several
nuns were killed in the cities of Dili
and Baucau.
Fides also said three priests were
among more than 100 who died in a
grenade attack on a parish in the town
of Suai.
Among those who died in Suai was
Hilario Madeira, a priest who Fides
described as well-known to the
militiamen as a pro- independence
supporter.
A spokesman for an international
Catholic relief agency told CNN that the head of the agency's East Timor
office,the Rev. Francisco Barretto, was among the victims of the continuing
violence.
The Vatican says 85 percent of the population of East Timor is Catholic.
U.N. delegation to visit East Timor
A U.N. Security Council delegation to Indonesia is to visit East Timor on
Saturday to assess the crisis first-hand. The five-member U.N. delegation
met Indonesian military and political leaders on Thursday.
Following a two-hour meeting in Jakarta with President Habibie, the U.N.
delegation said it plans to travel to in East Timor to determine whether
Indonesia will be able to restore order.
"We expressed our concern very strongly about the continuing problems, the
humanitarian problems and the bloodshed in East Timor," the British
ambassador to the U.N. Jeremy Greenstock said after the meeting.
The United States, which ended all military contacts with Indonesia
Thursday, was among many countries to call on Jakarta to take decisive
action to end the bloodshed.
Australia has offered to lead a peacekeeping force and has 2,000 troops
ready to move in at Indonesia's request but so far Jakarta has rejected the
need for any outside force.
"We have a major humanitarian disaster happening now and the Security
Council might have the responsibility of the crimes of genocide on its hands,"
Ana Gomes, Portugal's top representative in Jakarta in the absence of formal
diplomatic ties.
But Indonesian officials warned that pressure on Jakarta may cause an
ultra-nationalist backlash and a rise in anti- Western sentiment.
"Indonesia does not behave like other countries which buckle under
international pressure," said presidential spokesman Dewi Fortuna Anwar.
U.N. to leave core group in Dili
The United Nations has also refrained
from withdrawing all its staff from the
East Timor capital, Dili, which has
been devastated by violence since the
population of the former Portuguese
colony voted overwhelmingly for
independence from Indonesia.
About 400 U.N. international and
local workers will be evacuated to
Australia Friday with a core group of
staff remaining.
The decision which has raised morale in the U.N. compound according to
the head of the U.N. mission, Ian Martin, who pledged the violence will not
derail East Timor's progress to independence.
Signs violence diminishing
In Dili, where hundred of U.N. staff and refugees have sought refuge in the
U.N. compound protected by Indonesian troops, the violence seemed to be
abating Thursday, said Martin, although gunfire could still be heard and fresh
plumes of smoke billowed as new buildings were torched.
"There are some signs that the trend is in the right direction, but we are still a
long way from being able to do our work," Martin said.
Martin, who was able to leave the U.N. compound and travel a short
distance to meet with senior Indonesian military officers Thursday, said
armed militiamen were still roaming the streets, some wearing the
red-and-white colors of the Indonesian flag.
Conditions in the compound
improved with the arrival of fresh
food, water, medicine and fuel from
the nearby U.N. warehouse in Dili.
The military has assured the United
Nations that the refugees will be able
to move safely from the compound to
join others sheltering in the nearby
village of Dare.
Father of independence
leader reported to be
dead
East Timorese independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao's
father, who disappeared Tuesday, was reportedly among the victims of the
violence in Dili, said an aide to Gusmao, confirming an earlier Portuguese
radio report.
The report quotes religious sources as saying that Manuel Francisco
Gusmao, 82, was killed by militiamen but gives no information on the fate of
his wife. She disappeared with her husband as their house was torched by
rampaging militiamen on the same day their son was released from prison in
Jakarta.
CNN's Maria Ressa reported that the
father's name was on a list of about 40
people compiled by a church group in East
Timor, who were believed killed. But at
least two of those people have since
reappeared.
She says Xanana Gusmao has said he
believes his father is dead. but there is no
way to confirm it now.
Meanwhile, international concern grows
over the fate of almost a third of the
Timorese population who are believed to
have fled their homes to escape the fighting.
The Indonesian government estimates
45,000 refugees have escaped to West Timor recent days, but many of
them find themselves in refugee camps run by the same Indonesian troops
that reports say failed to protect them from militia attacks, say relief
agencies.
The regional head of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees warned that
his organization has no staff in West Timor and that security and access must
improve if a humanitarian disaster is to be averted. |
