Three dead in last day of campaign<\/p>\n
By Budiman Moerdijat and Dwi Atmanta<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (JP): At least three men were shot dead and
\nseveral others wounded on Thursday in sporadic clashes here that
\ntarnished the penultimate day of campaigning for Monday's vote on
\nthe province's future.<\/p>\n
The clashes, which pitted independence supporters against
\nintegrationists, broke out in Kuluhun subdistrict in the eastern
\npart of town, only hours after the authorities announced that
\npeace had prevailed ahead the landmark self-determination vote.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of arrests following the clashes.<\/p>\n
Proindependence supporter Atanacio Muniz, 23, died after he
\nwas shot in the head, while Ejildo da Costa, 27, was killed from
\ngunshot wounds to the chest. Their bodies were admitted to the
\nMotael polyclinic.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said another man, identified as Bernardio, a student
\nof Jember University in East Java, was shot to death at close
\nrange in front of a nunnery from the St. Paul of Charters Order.
\nSome of the nuns placed lighted candles near the spot.<\/p>\n
Unconfirmed reports said other fatalities in the violence were
\nMetta Araujo, Oktavio dos Santos and Limo.<\/p>\n
Five other people, including Reuters photographer Bea Wiharta,
\nwere injured by gunshot wounds. They underwent surgery to remove
\nbullets at the polyclinic later in the evening.<\/p>\n
Another journalist, Kornelius Ama of Kompas daily, was beaten
\nby angry residents, who also burned his motorcycle.<\/p>\n
A man wearing a red and white T-shirt was stabbed in the
\nabdomen when he drove through the Kuluhun area. Residents also
\nsmashed the windshield of the van he and his friends were in.<\/p>\n
The subdistrict has been called one of the proindependence
\nforce's strongholds.<\/p>\n
A number of prointegration militiamen, dressed in military
\nfatigues and green berets, aimed their guns at journalists
\ncovering the incident before the eyes of some Mobile Brigade
\npolice personnel. Some militiamen were seen carrying semi-
\nautomatic rifles.<\/p>\n
Earlier, a police officer lost his composure when he was
\ngreeted by a barrage of complaints from residents over the
\nsecurity authorities' failure to cope with the armed attacks. He
\nwas involved in a brief quarrel with residents before hundreds of
\nenforcement troops arrived.<\/p>\n
The type of bullets which had killed and wounded the residents
\nwas not immediately known. The residents challenged gun-wielding
\nmilitiamen with stones, swords and iron and wooden poles. Police
\nfired warning shots to quell the clashes.<\/p>\n
A group of people also attacked a proindependence office
\nsituated some two kilometers from Kuluhun.<\/p>\n
As night fell, the town remained tense. A group of people
\nwearing black T-shirts and carrying swords and home-made pistols
\nwere seen standing near a crossroad close to the Governor's
\noffice. Others were seen walking along the street heading to
\nKomoro airport.<\/p>\n
Some journalists fled their hotels and rented houses to gather
\nat Mahkota Hotel, fearing further violence.<\/p>\n
A Kuluhun resident, Hermene Guido Lobato, said the incident
\nwas sparked by prointegration supporters who came to the
\nsubdistrict in a motorcade and damaged a picture of
\nproindependence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao. A house
\nwas set on fire and two others were attacked in the afternoon
\nclash.<\/p>\n
A police officer, Lt. Col. JJ Simbolon, blamed the
\nprointegration group for violating an earlier agreement not to
\nenter areas known as strongholds of their rivals.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of prointegration
\nsupporters gathered for a campaign rally at Pramuka soccer field.
\nSeveral singers from Jakarta, including rocker Renny Jayusman,
\nadded life to the gathering.<\/p>\n
In his spirited speech, Aitarak militia commander Eurico
\nGuterres told the crowd to fight to keep the former Portuguese
\ncolony under Jakarta's control with greater autonomy.<\/p>\n
"Those who demand independence are just frustrated people.
\nThere will be no real independence if the wide-ranging autonomy
\nis rejected," he said, adding that prointegration militias were
\nprepared to start a guerrilla resistance if the proindependence
\ncamp wins Tuesday's ballot.<\/p>\n
In a joint press conference earlier in the day, spokesman for
\nprovincial police Capt. Widodo DS, spokesman for the Government
\nTask Force for Popular Consultation in East Timor Dino Patti
\nDjalal and member of the Commission on Security and Stability
\n(KPS) BN Marbun, hailed supporters of the two factions for
\nmaintaining order and peace.<\/p>",
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