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The Australian
1 Aug 99

US volunteer doctor forced to leave East Timor

>From AP

DILI: American volunteer Doctor Dan Murphy yesterday was forced to leave East
Timor for the second time after Indonesian immigration officials confiscated
his passport and refused to process his visa in Dili.

Doctor Dan, who runs the Catholic Motael clinic, was forced to leave two
months ago after a demand by the pro-integration political front organisation
for the militia FPDK.

The FPDK released a press release demanding his removal from the country for
speaking to the foreign press on the many victims of militia violence the
doctor said he was forced to treat after militia massacres in Liquica and
Dili in April and May of this year.

Although the availability of medical treatment for East Timorese in Dili has
improved slightly with the reopening of the main Dili hospital at Toko Baru,
many East Timorese refuse to be treated there.

They resent the Indonesian military doctors and their relationship with the
Indonesian military, and the militia who in many cases caused their injuries.

Before boarding a flight to Bali today, Dan said all the foreign agencies
that have tried to send doctors into Dili officially have been obstructed.

With continuing violence and over 50,000 people displaced by the
pro-Indonesian militia as the UN sponsored ballot approaches on August 30 the
need for medical services here is increasing.

The Indonesian doctors left last year as things got worse and there is still
no-one to treat these people he said. Machete and gunshot wounds are just the
tip of the iceberg. There is also rampant tuberculosis, malaria and
malnutrition right through the refugees here.

Dan said that, to his knowledge, there has been nothing but obstruction on
the part of Indonesian authorities regarding foreign doctors wanting to work
in East Timor.

"These people, particularly the refugees, aren't even thinking of voting.
They're malnourished hungry and sick," he said.

Dan said the only way he had been able to work in East Timor for the last
nine months was by continually renewing his 60-day tourist visa.

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Didistribusikan tgl. 1 Aug 1999 jam 10:41:21 GMT+1
oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://www.Indo-News.com/
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