ICRC enters E. Timor conflict area of Suai<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (JP): The International Commission of the Red
\nCross (ICRC) began operations in Suai in the Covalima regency of
\nEast Timor where scores of people reportedly have died in
\ncivilian conflicts.<\/p>\n
ICRC press officer Sri Wahyu Endah told The Jakarta Post the
\ncommission had heard there were \"many victims\" in need of
\nhumanitarian aid.<\/p>\n
\"The priority will be medical services,\" Endah said, declining
\nto elaborate on the number of injuries and deaths. The police and
\nmilitary have denied conflicts have taken place in Suai.<\/p>\n
A local prointegration leader, Rui Emiliano Treixeira Lopes,
\nsaid on Monday that \"several\" people killed last week were dumped
\nin Salele River in Suai. A legal aid office has reported 30
\npeople missing in the past week.<\/p>\n
The ICRC has been in East Timor since early April when two
\npeople were killed in Liquica regency, followed by the violence
\nin Liquica on April 16 when between seven and 25 people were
\nkilled. However, the commission's attempts to gain access to
\nLiquica have repeatedly failed.<\/p>\n
Declining military or police protection, this week the ICRC
\ngained access to Covalima.<\/p>\n
A number of relief organizations have had their operations
\nhampered by safety concerns. In Liquica, journalists saw an ICRC
\nstaffer being threatened by armed civilians while military
\npersonnel stood by.<\/p>\n
Victims of the Liquica violence are in dire need of food aid
\nand their homes and belongings have been burned. Few dare to
\nventure outside the regency to seek help.<\/p>\n
Even vegetable plants in people's yards have been stolen, a
\nwoman from Liquica who lost three relatives in clashes between
\nproindependence supporters and prointegration militia, said.<\/p>\n
\"What are the children supposed to eat? Their father has been
\nkilled, the house is burned and even the corn has been stolen,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights lashed out at local
\nadministrations' failure to remain neutral, which has hampered
\nthe commission's efforts to act on behalf of an estimated 18,000
\ninternally displaced people in East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"They have not done anything, even though it is their job,\"
\ncommission member Koesparmono Irsan said.<\/p>\n
National Commission for Violence Against Women member Agustine
\nNunuk Murniati and Koesparmono agreed that deep suspicion and
\nfear among locals were preventing authorities from helping East
\nTimorese.<\/p>\n
In a related development, Portuguese envoy Ana Gomes arrived
\nhere late Tuesday to observe the latest developments in the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
\"I wish to directly observe the disputing parties in East
\nTimor and I will meet them during my visit; including the
\npolitical leaders of both parties,\" the head of Portugal's
\ninterest section in Indonesia said on her arrival at Comoro
\nAirport for a two-day visit.<\/p>\n
\"I have already met the governor (Abilio Jose Osorio Soares)
\non the plane and I will meet the local military commander and the
\nDili Police chief,\" she said, referring to Col. Tono Suratman and
\nCol. Timbul Silaen, respectively.<\/p>\n
She said she also would meet Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes
\nBelo and Baucau Bishop Basilio do Nascimento.<\/p>\n
On the same flight with Gomes was Belgian envoy Luk Darras,
\nwho also arrived to observe the latest developments in the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Jakarta, the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA) is
\ndiscussing whether to dismiss council member Mario Viegas
\nCarrascalao, who recently fled Indonesia to Macao fearing for his
\nlife.<\/p>\n
\"He (Carrascalao) will be dismissed from the council,\" deputy
\nchairman Achmad Tirtosudiro said here on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Carrascalao, a former governor of East Timor and a former
\nIndonesian ambassador to Rumania and the Maldive Islands, fled to
\nthe Portuguese colony last week after receiving death threats
\nfrom unidentified persons. He said he was on the hit list of the
\nprointegration militia in East Timor.<\/p>\n
He recently criticized the Armed Forces for supplying weapons
\nto the prointegration militia.<\/p>\n
Carrascalao said he did not report his move to Macao to
\nPresident B.J. Habibie because there was no time.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Bagja, a DPA member, said Carrascalao's motive for
\nfleeing the country could have been to discredit Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"If he really was threatened, he could have asked for
\nprotection from the security authorities. I believe his political
\nmotive was to give the international community the impression
\nthat Indonesia, especially East Timor, is unsafe,\" he said after
\naccompanying Achmad to a meeting with Minister of Home Affairs
\nSyarwan Hamid on Tuesday. (33\/anr\/rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/icrc-enters-e-timor-conflict-area-of-suai-1447893297",
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