ASIET News Updates - September 6, 1999 ====================================== * Refugees flee as East Timor burns * The butchery begins in East Timor * International community betrays the Timorese people * Expelled activist tells of Indonesia's payback * Jakarta's bloody hands: military back killings * Army's next move crucial to the nation's future ------------------------------------------------------------- Refugees flee as East Timor burns ================================= Associated Press - September 6, 1999 Geoff Spencer, Dili -- Pro-Indonesia militiamen and Indonesian security forces shot and burned their way through East Timor's capital unchallenged Sunday, forcing thousands of terrified civilians to flee from violence set in motion by a vote overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Indonesia. With waves of gunfire echoing across the city and militiamen wielding machetes and guns, fears of civil war have heightened since the United Nations announced Saturday that 78.5 percent of East Timor's voters chose independence in Monday's referendum. The UN compound in Dili was under siege Sunday, with militiamen circling outside, shooting assault rifles and menacing the several hundred people inside the compound. Food and water shortages loomed when 1,000 civilians taking refuge in a school next door fled into the compound after they were threatened. The unarmed UN mission is completely dependent on Indonesian security forces for protection. But many in the Indonesian army are believed to be allied with the militias. Casualty reports were impossible to verify, though witness accounts said scores were killed Sunday in the former Portuguese colony. "There is every indication that a massacre is taking place, staged by (Indonesian) military forces," Ana Gomes, who is Lisbon's diplomatic envoy to Jakarta, told Portugal's TSF radio. "Over 100 dead would be a conservative estimate." Defense Minister Gen. Wiranto said Sunday that the army will dispatch about 1,400 troops to maintain order. Wiranto was part of a high-level delegation rushed from Jakarta to meet local authorities and UN officials who organized the vote. People fled however they could, part of an exodus from the province that threatened to reach tens of thousands. Some 2,000 huddled at the Dili residence of Bishop Carlos Belo, East Timor's spiritual leader and co-winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. His diocese office elsewhere was set ablaze. More than 5,000 terrified civilians fled from Dili's seaport on ferries bound for nearby islands, while exasperated police said 15,000 people had crowded into the police compound to stay out of harm's way. At the airport, civilians clutching their dearest possessions dashed across the runway, scrambling aboard an air force cargo plane to fly to safety through skies filled with smoke from burning buildings. Journalists and other foreigners were also evacuating. Foreign Minister Ali Alatas claimed the violence was a result of anti-independence forces not understanding how the complaints process against alleged elections irregularities worked, a UN official said on condition of anonymity. But doubts about the government's commitment to security remained. Thousands of Indonesian soldiers and police made no apparent attempt to rein in the rampaging militias, who lit the night skies orange with fires. No one ventured outside except to flee. Leandro Isaac, a spokesman for the pro-independence forces, said he had a report that up to a dozen people had been killed in the turbulent Becora district. In another report, a witness told The Associated Press that members of a notorious militia were shooting at people -- apparently settlers from Java, Indonesia's most populous island -- trying to flee aboard ferries. The witness said two people were killed. The butchery begins in East Timor ================================= Agence France Presse - September 6, 1999 Lisbon -- Timorese resistance leaders living abroad warned Sunday that Indonesia was preparing an "ethnic cleansing" of East Timor after a landslide vote for indpendence, state news agency Lusa reported. The National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) said in a statement issued in Australia that it had evidence Indonesia was massing between 30,000 to 40,000 troops along the border of East Timor, in preparation for an "invasion," Lusa said. "Thirty-six hours after the Timorese celebrated the victory of independence, Indonesia is preparing a plan of genocide and social disintegration to literally kill the independence movement," Lusa quoted the the statement as saying. Thousands of people have fled to the mountains, it said, charging that "police are firing indiscriminately and pursuing refugees in towns nearest the mountains." In South Africa, Mari Alkatiri, a leader of the Fretilin armed resistance movement, was quoted Sunday by Lusa as saying that Indonesia sought to "destroy the social fabric of East Timor (...) by evacuating the East Timorese toward Indonesian territory." Alkatiri, who lives in Maputo, Mozambique, has not been to East Timor for 24 years. He was due in Jakarta for the release Wednesday of resistance leader Xanana Gusmao. International community betrays the Timorese people =================================================== International Federation for East Timor - September 6, 1999 This report has been compiled under extremely difficult circumstances as the situation in Dili deteriorates by the hour. Last night (Saturday) there was shooting throughout the night in the Dili suburb of Becora which continued till sun rise. Also early this morning hand grenades were heard to be exploding. Becora is now blockaded -- nobody can get in or out. There is unconfirmed reports of many killings of men, women and children. An unconfirmed number of 77 bodies are reported to be scatted throughout houses, lane and water ways. Bodies of young children are reported to be among the dead including one with a twisted neck. There are also reports of children bodies being thrown on fires. The Red Cross and UNAMET have been denied access and are under strict orders not to leave their compounds. Nobody is able to investigate these reports. There has been one witness that has come into the IFET office to report on the Becora killings but people are too fearful to move out of the area. Approximately 1,000 people are seeking refuge in a local church. There are also reports of people killed in the mountains above Dili. Lots of trucks were seen travelling up out of Dili loaded with uniformed men. Another report estimates that 200 refugees are at the Protestant Hosana Church. At 2pm today there was shooting coming from the downtown area of Dili where the church is situated. At this time there is (at 4pm) the police moved into the Mahkota hotel and forced journalists out of their rooms and escorted them to the airport. The building next to the hotel is on fire. In the suburb of Balide at 5pm it was reported that buildings were on fire and 300 refugees were held up in a church school with Silesian Sisters. The Timor Aid office in this area was looted. There has been a warning that the Motael Clinic will be attacked tonight and the building destroyed. There are 3 doctors and 2 nurses, some of them Australian. At present there are 25 patients and their family members. A total of 57 people people. The situation has now become crucial. IFET-OP believes that unless there is an immediate intervention by a peace-keeping force within days, the consequences will be catastrophe. Expelled activist tells of Indonesia's payback ============================================== The Age - September 6, 1999 Stephen Cauchi -- Dozens, if not hundreds, of East Timorese were being killed by the Indonesian military as a payback for last week's independence vote, an Australian activist expelled from the territory said yesterday. Dr Andrew McNaughton, who was forced to leave East Timor on Saturday, said the evacuation of Western journalists and officials had created an information blanket behind which a "bloodbath" could take place. Dr McNaughton said anti-independence militia, working with the Indonesian military, were carrying out door-to-door searches in Dili, shooting and burning and "wreaking revenge". "Everybody knows the entire army are behind the militia -- it's being said by everyone," he said. "Once the foreigners leave, they will have cut off the eyes and ears of the outside world to get on with their dirty work." Dr McNaughton said he had been told that 20 Timorese refugees were killed in the grounds of a church in the district of Maliana. He said six people working for the United Nations mission were missing. Dr McNaughton, 45, said the militias were targeting the "intelligentsia" and "social elite" -- village heads, political leaders and people such as drivers or translators who had assisted the media or the United Nations. "They're sitting ducks," he said. He arrived in West Timor on Saturday to fly home to Australia, he said from Darwin. The road to West Timor was barred by many militia roadblocks, which seemed to be supervised by plain- clothes army officers. Dr McNaughton was travelling with two other Australians, Ms Sally Ann Watson, 35, and Ms Jude Conway, 49. A US policeman working for the United Nations was expected to make a full recovery in Royal Darwin Hospital after being shot on Saturday night in East Timor. The hospital's medical superintendent, Dr Len Notaras, said the unidentified American had undergone surgery at midnight to remove a bullet from his left side. A UN aircraft brought him to Darwin after he was shot in the village of Liquica. Jakarta's bloody hands: military back killings ============================================== Sydney Morning Herald - September 6, 1999 The Indonesian military -- presented to the world as providing security while East Timor prepares for independence -- is in fact orchestrating the brutal campaign of killings and intimidation, according to secret United Nations assessments. The documents show that in the past week the 14,000 soldiers serving under officers hand-picked by the Defence Minister, General Wiranto, have condoned and in some cases directed attacks by pro-Jakarta militia. And during many assaults the military has ordered the 8,000- strong Indonesian police contingent in East Timor to remain passive -- with open threats to them or their families if they intervene. The revelations come as pro-Jakarta militias stepped up their attacks following Saturday's announcement that 78.5 per cent of voters in last Monday's ballot had chosen independence over autonomy with Indonesia. Up to 25 deaths have been reported in Dili and there are unconfirmed reports of 20 people massacred in a church in Maliana. As the situation deteriorated, the Australian Defence Force increased its readiness for a possible evacuation with the frigates HMAS Darwin and HMAS Anzac joining the navy's high-speed catamaran in Darwin at the weekend. There are also two United States warships in the port from the joint exercise with Australian forces, Operation Crocodile. At the same time Australia is pressing for a "coalition of the willing", comprising Australia and a few other countries, to quickly provide a basic international security force to protect Australians and other UN personnel in East Timor. The Prime Minister raised the proposal with Indonesia's President Habibie on Friday but Mr Howard said yesterday that foreign troops would not be sent in without Indonesian and UN Security Council approval. One of the leaked UN documents relates to the wounding on Friday of a US policeman working with the UN team which was condemned yesterday by President Clinton. The American had been set upon by militia thugs at the instigation of the military and local police who tried to intervene were told to stand back, it said. He was recovering from gunshot wounds in Darwin yesterday. In another attack, militia were ordered by a group of Indonesian officers to shoot at trucks carrying UN staff and journalists. The leaked documents prepared by the United Nations mission to East Timor (UNAMET) conclude that there had been "a deliberate strategy to force UNAMET to withdraw from certain regions back to Dili". They found that in some cases during the past few days there have been "joint operations" including the burning of houses and attacks on civilians as well as UN personnel, including UN civilian police (Civpol). "Civpol strongly believe this series of incidents was orchestrated by TNI and Polri [Indonesian police] and that the militias acted with precise instructions as to their targets and the types of actions to conduct," one report says. In the western towns of Aileu, Ainaro, Maliana, Liquica and Same there are specific accounts of abuses, including a threat to burn down a UN compound by a militia leader who said he was acting on instructions from the local major. In Liquica, Indonesian police and military personnel were not only assisting the militias in an attack "but also shooting themselves at UN vehicles and their passengers". [By Craig Skehan, Hamish McDonald, David Jenkins and Mark Dodd] Army's next move crucial to the nation's future =============================================== Sydney Morning Herald - September 6, 1999 David Jenkins, Jakarta -- After two decades of double talk and self-delusion, Indonesians were yesterday coming to terms with the people of East Timor having emphatically rejected the nation that launched a brutal invasion of their half-island territory in 1975, bringing economic benefits but appalling human suffering. In Jakarta, East Timor's decision to push for independence has hit like a blow to the face. Many Indonesians are hurt and humiliated. For the army, which has run East Timor as a virtual satrapy with the local Indonesian army (TNI) colonel serving as a virtual pro-consul, the decision to withdraw from the republic is an especially bitter pill. Asked how his military colleagues saw the vote, a retired general said yesterday: "They all feel like the American Vietnam veterans feel. Like the Dutch veterans felt after they had to leave Indonesia in 1950. It is very hard to accept." As Indonesians face up to the shock of losing their 27th province and worry about the possible flow-on effects in other restive territories, they are casting about for explanations and rationalisations. The list of excuses, most of them fanciful, is not short: the UN Mission in East Timor (Unamet) was biased; there was undue pressure from Portugal and Western Europe; the United States and Australia had an agenda of their own; Catholic priests went from house to house warning that a vote for autonomy would be a vote for "Islamisation". Occasionally there is an acknowledgement that Indonesian actions might themselves have had an impact. "If the vote is against us in East Timor," said Lieutenant-General Hasnan Habib, "it is because of the sins [we have committed there]". That so many Indonesian leaders were taken aback by the extent of the vote in favour of independence shows how poorly informed many members of the political elite have been on East Timor. The big question is what comes next? Will Indonesian policemen continue to stand by, arms folded, as army-backed militia gangs rampage across the territory, taking over towns, setting fire to buildings, murdering political opponents, creating a climate of terror and forcing Unamet to circle the wagons in Dili, where its embattled compound is providing shelter to a number of terrified East Timorese and to the last two dozen journalists to stay in the territory? If they do, Indonesia could find itself paying a heavy economic price, quite apart from the damage done to Jakarta's international reputation by the army's brutal, futile and self- indulgent policy of pumping up the pro-Jakarta militias. If there is a bloodbath in East Timor or if foreign nationals are killed, as distinct from the long-suffering Timorese, Western donor countries might pull the plug on a $70 billion IMF bail-out plan. That would trigger a wave of panic among investors and businessmen, sending the rupiah diving. The hope still is, of course, that commonsense will prevail and that the TNI will accept it is time to cut its losses in Timor. If that were to happen, the army would bring its militia proxies under control, honouring at last the pledge Indonesia gave to maintain security in the territory before, during and after the vote. "I find it almost impossible to pick how the TNI will respond," said one analyst. "TNI leaders could end up saying to themselves, 'OK, Timor is gone. We will write that off and concentrate on Aceh'. "There are obviously people [in the army] who feel strongly about Timor and who would be happy to try and sow further dissention. But you would hope that at senior levels they would realise they are just making a rod for their own back." One problem is that President B.J. Habibie, who pushed for the referendum in the face of intense army hostility, does not have much leverage over the army. Dr Habibie is seeking re-election as president and he needs the support of the 38-strong TNI block in the MPR. He is also courting General Wiranto, the Defence Minister and army commander, as his vice-presidential running mate. At the same time, he needs to do all he can to hose down the Timor issue, given the fall-out from the Bank Bali scandal, which involved the alleged misuse of $US74million ($113 million) for campaign purposes. If East Timor were to descend into anarchy, with widespread killing, with the TNI humiliated and with a foreign peacekeeping force brought in, Dr Habibie's re-election campaign would be dead in the water. ********************************************************** Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) PO Box 458, Broadway NSW 2007 Australia Phone: 61-(0)2-96901230 Fax : 61-(0)2-96901381 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW : http://www.peg.apc.org/~asiet/ **********************************************************
