Precedence: bulk News Service 168/99 AI INDEX: ASA 21/137/99 8 September 1999 Indonesia/East Timor Attacks on nuns, priests and church workers Amnesty International is seriously concerned for the safety of priests, nuns and church workers in East Timor who are increasingly being targeted by armed pro-Indonesian militia an the Indonesian National Army (TNI). Historically perceived by Indonesian authorities and pro-integration East Timorese as being in favour of independence for East Timor, priests, nuns and church workers have been subjected to death threats, arbitrarily detained and physically assaulted. On 6 September, Bishop Belo's home in the capital, Dili, was attacked by what journalists describe as a handful of militias backed up by a larger number of soldiers from the Indonesian National Army (TNI). Thousands of internally displaced persons seeking shelter at the Bishop's residence were marched off at gunpoint by militia and TNI. Their whereabouts are unknown. On 8 September, the home of Baucau's Bishop, Basilio Nascimento, was attacked, and the Bishop and staff are now believed to have gone into hiding fearing for their lives. There are also reports that two priests in Suai have been killed. Amnesty International is also concerned at unconfirmed reports that four priests in Suai -- Father Dewanto, Father Hilario Pereira, Father Francisco Soares and Father Luis Bonaparte -- are at grave risk of attack. Fears for their safety have been heightened by reports that Father Hilario Pereira, Father Abel Jacob, Father Domingos Soares, Father Francisco Soares, and Father Abel Belo are on a militia death list. Several churches and offices have already been destroyed across East Timor in the last few days. Reports from East Timor today say that in Dili alone the Dili Cathedral, the Motael Church and a convent in Becora have been attacked. These reports cannot be confirmed. The United Nations Assistance Mission to East Timor (UNAMET) -- confined to its compound in Dili and denied access to their own food stocks by the TNI -- is currently withdrawing most of its staff to Darwin, Australia. There are no human rights monitors left in East Timor and a handful of journalists remain. In what has been a systematic campaign of intimidation, threats and attacks against observers, the Indonesian national Army (TNI) and the militias have ensured that there are no longer any witnesses to their atrocities. Source: Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom ---------- SiaR WEBSITE: http://apchr.murdoch.edu.au/minihub/siarlist/maillist.html
