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ANTARA, September 26, 1999

Reactions: Aussie Soldiers' Brutality Elicits Strong Reactions

Jakarta, sept 25 (ANTARA)- Reports that Australian soldiers in the
International Force in East Timor (Interfet) have committed
atrocities on pro-integration East Timorese are eliciting strong
reactions from Indonesian intellectual circles.

Eddy Nur SH MH, a lawyer, said the reports remind the Indonesian
public of the uncivilized acts of Australians in the past and the
fact that most of them are descendants of British convicts.

Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the Commission on Human rights, said
the Australia-led Interfet should be open in attitude by taking
into account the human rights and security of East Timorese people.

Australian troops should discard the "paranoid" attitude they had
shown since their arrival in the troubled territory, he said.

Uncivilized

Addy Nur said torching a man to death in a public place was
clearly an act that could only be perpetrated by members of an
umcivilized society.

By this misdeed, the Australian soldiers had shown themselves to
be more brutal and sadistic than the communist Vietcong during the
Vietnam war, he said.

"Looking back at the history of the Vietcong guerilla war, we can
say the Australian troops have proven to be more cruel, sadistic
and uncivilized than communists," Nur said.

Vietcong soldiers were brutal and inhuman but they never burned
their prisoners to death, according to NUr.

He suggested the brutality shown by the Australian troops was
probably a trait they inherited from their ancestors, most of whom
were British convicts.

Nur said the Australian soldiers who had committed the human
rights violations in East Timor should be arrested and answer for
their crimes in an international court of justice.

(T/PTU-03/RSI-03/20:45/INT-AJM-23:30/RSI-03/TB06)

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Didistribusikan tgl. 30 Sep 1999 jam 09:15:52 GMT+1
oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://www.Indo-News.com/
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