Evans expresses concern over Liquisa incident<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Australia's Foreign Minister Gareth Evans
\nyesterday expressed concern about the alleged killings of East
\nTimorese civilians in the town of Liquisa by Armed Forces (ABRI)
\npersonnel.<\/p>\n
\"We're very concerned about the news that civilians may have
\nbeen killed,\" Evans said in Jakarta yesterday.<\/p>\n
However, Evans was quick to add that he was \"pleased\" about
\nJakarta's swift reaction, in launching a military inquiry along
\nwith other investigations by the National Commission on Human
\nRights into the Jan. 12 incident.<\/p>\n
\"We of course are now prepared to wait and see what fruit
\ncomes from those investigations,\" he said, following a two-and-
\nhalf-hour meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Ali Alatas.<\/p>\n
Evans' two-day stay here marks the end of his Southeast Asian
\ntour which included Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei.<\/p>\n
Ali Alatas told journalists that during the meeting he had
\ninformed Evans of the steps being taken by the Indonesian
\ngovernment to investigate the Liquisa matter.<\/p>\n
\"It shows that our government is quick to respond to whatever
\nallegations may have been put forward, and it shows that we are
\nnot indifferent to such reports,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In what was initially described as armed contacts with
\nFretilin separatists, the Liquisa incident evoked an
\ninternational outcry when reports surfaced alleging that the six
\nEast Timorese killed had not been rebels but unarmed civilians.<\/p>\n
Through their embassy in Jakarta, the United States, Canada,
\nNew Zealand, the Netherlands, and Australia expressed concern
\nabout the reported killings.<\/p>\n
This uproar prompted President Soeharto to order his ministers
\nto establish a military inquiry board in the form of an Officers'
\nHonorary Council whose membership is yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
However, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung had already
\ntold the House of Representatives on Monday that, based on
\nreports from the regional military commander, only two of the six
\nkilled were rebels while the other four were civilians being
\nrecruited by Fretilin.<\/p>\n
He insisted that they had been killed during a shootout and
\nrejected suggestions that they had been ordinary, unarmed
\ncivilians.<\/p>\n
Pressure<\/p>\n
Minister Alatas yesterday denied suggestions that Indonesia
\nhad launched the inquiry only after being subjected to
\ninternational pressure.<\/p>\n
He argued that in the beginning Jakarta did not react because
\nthere were only reports of military contacts with rebel factions.<\/p>\n
\"Only later were there all kinds of reports, mostly in the
\npress and mostly from other sources, alleging that it had not
\nbeen a military contact but that civilians had been shot without
\nany reason. It was then that we reacted to these reports,\" he
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
The launching of a military inquiry conjures up memories of a
\nsimilar inquiry which was held following the 1991 Dili incident
\nwhen over 50 people were killed in a clash between security
\nforces and demonstrators.<\/p>\n
Since the integration of the former Portuguese colony as part
\nof Indonesia in 1976, East Timor has often been described as a
\npebble in the shoe of relations between Jakarta and Canberra.<\/p>\n
Despite saying that there were \"no big problems\" in
\nyesterday's meeting between \"two countries who are very close
\nfriends,\" Evans said that the situation in East Timor \"continues
\nto be a problem.\"<\/p>\n
\"We think that some kind of autonomous political status would
\nbe a helpful and appropriate way of moving forward, combined with
\na significant draw down of the military presence to that which is
\napplicable in other provinces,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He further called for new initiatives and the start of a
\nreconciliation process to improve the situation, especially for
\nthe province's younger people, whom Evans suggested were becoming
\n\"disaffected.\"<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, in an apparent gesture to his host and
\ncounterpart, who was standing next to him, Evans commented that
\nthese matters were for the Indonesian government to try to
\nresolve.<\/p>\n
\"I hope that it will be possible for that to happen,\" he
\nremarked. (mds)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/evans-expresses-concern-over-liquisa-incident-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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