Precedence: bulk
AAP, Saturday, May 15, 1999
PRO-INDONESIA MILITIA GIVEN DRUGS, WINE AND MONEY
SYDNEY, May 15 AAP - Members of the pro-Indonesian militia were carrying
out barbaric acts in East Timor high on drugs and alcohol which they had
been paid with, Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Belo claimed tonight.
Bishop Belo said many were "not conscious" about what they were doing.
"Well, many of them, they are illiterate people, they are from the
countryside and maybe they are paid for that," Bishop Belo told SBS
Television'sDateline tonight.
"Some information I got from the people here (is) that maybe they are
given some drugs and wine to drink.
"I was told by many people, even this morning, one man came to me to
say that ... they saw these people with their eyes all red and they are not
conscious about what they are doing."
Bishop Belo said there were some "strange people" among the militias,
including people from "outside" places like West Timor and Java.
He said while it would be impossible for the United Nations to ensure
the August ballot on the territory's future would be free and fair, the
vote should not be postphoned.
"I think that it will not be fair because the people are afraid,"
Bishop Belo said.
He said the UN should send between 6,000 and 8,000 armed peacekeepers
from Bishop Belo said the Portuguese government would not have signed the
peace agreement with Indonesia had it known the real situation in East
Timor was one of repression and violence.
"They are outside, they are so far (away) and maybe they don't
understand the Indonesian people, the Indonesian psychology," he said.
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