Precedence: bulk
Human Rights Watch
August 27, 1999,
MORE DEATH INEVITABLE IN East TIMOR UNLESS DONOR ACT
(New York)� More deaths in East Timor are inevitable unless immediate,
collective pressure is brought to bear on the Indonesian government to stop
its regular security forces from aiding proxy militias, Human Rights Watch
said today, in the aftermath of four and possibly five deaths in Dili on
Thursday.
That pressure should involve direct calls from the leaders of Indonesia's key
donors, including German Chancellor Schroeder, Japanese Prime Minister
Obuchi, Australian Prime Minister Howard, and U.S. President Bill Clinton, to
Indonesian President Habibie. The leaders should warn the Indonesian
president in no uncertain terms that aid programs and loans�except for
humanitarian assistance and support to civil society�will be suspended
immediately and be resumed only when serious steps are taken to improve the
security situation in East Timor. Those steps should include holding
Indonesian security forces and militia leaders accountable for their
complicity in the violence.
If that message is not delivered, Human Rights Watch said, not only East
Timorese civilians but U.N. personnel and foreign journalists could be the
next casualties.
On Thursday, four deaths were confirmed and at least one other appeared
likely in the aftermath of violence linked to a pro-autonomy rally. Two
pro-autonomy youths were stabbed to death in the Becora area of Dili, while
at least two and perhaps three pro-independence people died from gunshot
wounds. Reports, as yet unconfirmed, suggest that two of the latter were shot
not by pro-autonomy militias but by an Indonesian army soldier and policeman
respectively.
Virgilio da Silva and Apollinario Pinto da Silva, both from Viqueque and
supporters of autonomy, were stabbed to death about 3:00 p.m. reportedly in a
clash with pro-independence youths. Anastacio Moniz died from his wounds at
the headquarters of the UN Mission in East Timor after being shot nearby,
reportedly by a soldier. A second youth, Baldinho (also seen as Bernadino)
Gutteres, was reportedly shot by a Brimob (mobile police brigade) member in
the Kuluhan area of Dili after shouting insults at the police for failing to
stop violence by militia members. The militia was terrorizing the capital
with guns, both homemade and automatic.
The Jakarta-based newspaper Kompas also said a person named Metta Araujo was
among the dead; other reports said a high school student with a similar name
who may be the same person had been shot and perhaps killed in the Kuluhan
clash. Several others were shot and wounded, including a Kompas journalist,
when either the militias or the Indonesian security forces opened fire, and
two members of the Dili-based Aitarak ("Thorn") militia were said to have
been dragged from their car and remained missing as night fell in Dili.
The violence came as pro-autonomy supporters, backed by armed militias,
staged a parade and rally in Dili as part of the campaign for the referendum
to be held next Monday, August 30. Clashes broke out at different parts along
the parade route. Near the residence of Bishop Belo in the Licidere district,
youths threw stones at pro-autonomy marchers who tried to take down a flag of
the pro-independence organization, Concelho Nacionale de Resistencia
Timorense (CNRT). Elsewhere, the marchers vandalized the house of an ethnic
Chinese, Lai Nee Cho, then burned his car and kiosk, according to Indonesian
journalists. A few minutes later, a minivan with more pro-autonomy marchers
arrived, and they were stoned by angry bystanders. One of the marchers was
stabbed, according to this report, possibly one of the two named above who
died.
The stabbing heightened tensions, and it was after this that militia forces
armed with guns began firing, and attacked a hotel where foreign journalists
was surrounded.
Despite repeated calls by the international community and UNAMET on the
Indonesian government and military to cease support for the pro-autonomy
militias and punish perpetrators of violence, no serious steps in that
direction have occurred. The Aitarak militia's leader, Eurico Gutteres, has
called on his supporters to block all roads out of Dili on August 31, the day
after the vote, suggesting that if anything, violence is likely to increase,
not end, after the referendum has taken place.
Several nongovernmental groups in and out of East Timor, as well as
parliamentarians from Australia, Europe, and the United States, have called
for U.N. peacekeepers to be sent to East Timor immediately. Under the terms
of the May 5 agreement on the referendum, however, peacekeepers can only be
deployed after Indonesia's highest legislative body has formally ratified the
results of the referendum, and that is not likely to happen until November at
the earliest and possibly even later. In the meantime, the U.N.Security
Council is expected to approve on Friday an increase in the number of unarmed
military liaison officers and civilian police, bringing the totals to 300 and
460 respectively.
For more information:
Sidney Jones (New York) (w) +1 212 216 1228
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