Militia members attack UN post in East Timor: Official<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A 100-strong group of pro-Jakarta militiamen
\nattacked an unarmed UN outpost in East Timor on Tuesday, injuring
\na foreign electoral officer and several East Timorese, a UN
\nofficial said.<\/p>\n
\"One UNAMET staff member, a woman district electoral officer
\nof South African nationality, suffered a minor injury to her leg
\nand several East Timorese suffered head and other injuries,\" the
\nofficial of the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) told The
\nJakarta Post in quoting a statement.<\/p>\n
The incident is the first reported violence against the UN
\nmission since it began work in East Timor last month ahead of
\nAugust's scheduled ballot to determine the future of the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta on Tuesday, 60 proindependence and prointegration
\ngroups were gathering for peace talks at the Sheraton Bandara
\nHotel. They are scheduled to end on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
UNAMET said the attack on its regional office in Maliana,
\nBobonaro regency, about 80 kilometers southwest of the provincial
\ncapital of Dili, happened at about 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
The attackers were from \"a group estimated at about 100
\nmilitia who were among a larger crowd who had gathered outside
\nthe office.<\/p>\n
\"The militia threw rocks and stones at the office where UNAMET
\nstaff were present\" in addition to local people who had taken
\nshelter in the building.<\/p>\n
\"The UNAMET office was considerably damaged,\" the statement
\nsaid. It added that a more complete report would be issued when
\nthe mission's chief security officer returned to Dili after
\nrushing to the site.<\/p>\n
A witness in Maliana told the Post that the attack was led by
\nJuliao Soares, a local military member. She added that members of
\nthe militia also attacked three nearby houses and two UN cars.<\/p>\n
The government said the attack on the UNAMET office was the
\nresult of a brawl between supporters and opponents of
\nindependence, but denied it was a deliberate act against the
\norganization.<\/p>\n
\"Not at all. Any insinuation in that direction is completely
\nwrong,\" spokesman for the Task Force for the Implementation of
\nthe Popular Consultation in East Timor Dino Patti Djalal was
\nquoted as saying by Reuters.<\/p>\n
At the Jakarta peace talks, member of the National Commission
\non Human Rights Clementino dos Reis Amaral said the commission
\ninsisted that police should investigate the matter.<\/p>\n
\"For any reason, the UNAMET cannot be assaulted,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The country's image and the trust of the UN in Indonesia was
\nat stake, he added.<\/p>\n
AFP quoted Anicetto Guterres of the private Justice and Peace
\nCommission in Dili as saying that he received reports from locals
\nin Maliana that dozens of militiamen attacked the post. He said
\nthey were armed with wooden clubs and rocks, but not with
\nfirearms.<\/p>\n
\"I've only heard of one person being injured, maybe from
\nshattered glass when a rock hit,\" he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
Guterres said the local police station was about one kilometer
\nfrom the UNAMET office but a smaller police post was situated
\nacross from the building. Police did not arrive on the scene
\nuntil after the attack, he said.<\/p>\n
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has ordered a two-week delay
\nin the vote, originally scheduled for Aug. 8, partly because of
\nthe continuing violence in the province.<\/p>\n
The military backed militia has been blamed for most of the
\nviolence in East Timor since January, when the government first
\nannounced it would consider granting independence to the former
\nPortuguese colony if its people rejected an autonomy offer.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Portugal agreed in May that the UN would send in
\ncontingents of unarmed civilian police and electoral officers to
\nsupervise the vote. Indonesian police are responsible for
\nsecurity. (byg\/33\/imn\/anr)<\/p>",
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