---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- EAST TIMOR: Air of Anarchy Deepens, Journalists Start Leaving DILI, East Timor, Sep 2 (IPS) - The air of fear and anarchy deepened here as militia-led violence climbed, prompting the military to evacuate Indonesian journalists Thursday and Jakarta to send in more police forces. These occurred as rumours of more impending violence by the pro- autonomy militias spread -- amid calls at the United Nations for an armed peacekeeping force and demands by Indonesia's neighbours for quick action to prevent a descent into chaos. Many fear that if the Indonesian government is unable or unwilling to rein in the militia members, who are rampaging in the streets armed with knives, machetes and guns, the independence that East Timor is widely expected to gain might well be a meaningless one. New Zealand Foreign Minister Don McKinnon said Thursday that Indonesia should be ashamed of how it had allowed pro-autonomy militias to terrorise East Timor. In a phone call to Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, McKinnon said he told his counterpart: ''This is going very very bad, Ali.'' ''East Timor is poised on a knife's edge at the moment,'' added Laurie Brereton, Opposition foreign affairs spokesman in Australia, who was part of his country's delegation that observed the East Timor ballot. Apparently unable to say what happens next, Indonesian officials Thursday morning undertook the evacuation of local journalists aboard two transport planes out of East Timor. ''I heard one military official say 'We can't guarantee your safety after this evacuation','' IPS correspondent Kafil Yamin reported from Dili. He said rumours were circulating that the Besih Merah Putih (Red-and-White Iron) militia, known for its violence, were going to ''sweep the city'' and would target Indonesian journalists, so they wanted everyone out by Thursday. Indeed, ''there is a profound and pervasive sense of fear as the counting of the ballots begins in Dili,'' said a statement by the International Federation of East Timor Observer Project (IFET- OP), which has had to evacuate from four areas due to the deteriorating security situation. Also Thursday, the Indonesian news agency Antara reported that two companies of a total of 200 policemen from Jakarta arrived here to help beef up security, amid charges that police forces often stood by as militiamen went on a rampage. At least two people were reportedly killed when pro-Indonesia militia units outside the UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) headquarters in Dili threw rocks at the compound and burned nearby houses, UN officials said. ''The police have two main tasks following the popular consultation -- to help create a conducive situation and to safeguard the process and result of vote count of the ballot,'' East Timor police chief Col Timbul Silaen said after the additional policemen arrived. Local media also reported that some Indonesian warships had been moved to three hours' sailing distance from East Timor, to respond to any eventuality. Meantime, local and foreign journalists were starting to look for their own ways of leaving East Timor, including by land by going over to the other side of Timor island. Groups of armed militia were setting up checkpoints around East Timor, stopping people in the streets and in some cases burning houses, firing into the air. Militia members were reported to have barged into a hotel where foreign journalists were staying Thursday, brandishing weapons. ''Journalists no longer feel safe around here,'' one Indonesian reporter said, adding that gunshots continued to be heard in Dili overnight and that some journalists had been roughed up militia members outside the main compound of the United Nations Assistance Mission for East Timor (UNAMET). ''Even some UN police have been attacked,'' he added. Clearly, he said, the Indonesian military and police are unable to control the violence especially because the militias are identified with them. The violence of the last few days, coming after the Aug 30 vote where 98.6 percent of registered East Timorese voters cast their votes, has led to rising criticism of Indonesia's previous pledge to be responsible for security. ''It is no longer credible for Indonesia to maintain sole responsibility for security,'' Brereton said. Calls were made at the UN for a peacekeeping force to be sent to East Timor, but many diplomats also agree it was unlikely not least because China would veto a move interpreted as a interference in sovereign affairs. The Indonesian government has steadfastly rejected a foreign peacekeeping presence. The UN presence is made up of more than 700 personnel, including 460 unarmed police. The UN Security Council has called on Indonesia to live up to its commitment to keep security in East Timor. But McKinnon said that if neither the Council nor the Indonesian government allowed foreign peacekeepers, countries in the region would be faced with the issue of whether to enter East Timor without UN consent. (END/IPS/ap-ip-hd/ky-js/js/99) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 3 Sep 1999 jam 03:15:58 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
