Xanana demamds countries stop aiding Indonesia<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (AP): East Timor's independence leader on
\nThursday demanded donor countries withhold crucial economic aid
\nfor Indonesia until it disbands pro-Jakarta militia gangs in West
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
Jose \"Xanana\" Gusmao said in a statement the militias were
\nstill roaming Indonesian-controlled West Timor with impunity
\nafter killing three U.N. foreign aid workers and three
\nIndonesians on Sept. 6.<\/p>\n
Gusmao said the world should stop supporting Indonesia
\nfinancially until it \"proves its goodwill and determination by
\ndismantling the terrorist training camps on Indonesian territory
\n(and) disarms and arrests all those responsible for the present
\nviolence in West Timor.\"<\/p>\n
He called on the World Bank to postpone a planned mid-October
\ndonor meeting of the Consultative Group of Indonesia to force
\nIndonesia to crack down on the militias.<\/p>\n
The group is made up of donor nations as well as the World
\nBank and Asian Development Bank. It had previously approved $5.6
\nbillion in much-needed loans this year to prop-up Indonesia's
\ncrisis-ridden economy. It is scheduled to meet in Tokyo to
\ndiscuss the disbursement of the money.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's government is burdened with $135 billion in debt
\nand relies on foreign loans to maintain state services.
\nGusmao's call for sanctions comes six days after World Bank
\nPresident James Wolfensohn warned Indonesia that the success of
\nthe Tokyo donor meeting was dependent on an improvement of the
\nsituation in West Timor.<\/p>\n
Last week, a militia mob attacked an office of the United
\nNations High Commissioner for Refugees in the West Timor border
\ntown of Atambua, killing three foreign staffers and prompting
\nabout 400 aid workers to flee the territory.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the bodies of the three victims were being
\nairlifted to Australia before being sent home to their respective
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
East Timor's UN administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello is
\nexpected to meet later Thursday with Indonesia's security
\nminister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the tourist island of Bali
\nto discuss the situation in West Timor.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Jakarta, prosecutors questioned East Timor's
\nformer police chief Brig. Gen. Timbul Silaen about his alleged
\nrole in last year's devastation of East Timor.<\/p>\n
The territory was hit by a wave of anti-independence militia
\nviolence a year ago after the majority of its people voted in a
\nUN-supervised ballot to end 24 years of Indonesian occupation.<\/p>\n
The military stood by during the rampage and the violence only
\nended with the arrival of international troops. Some accuse
\nsections of Indonesia's army of aiding the militias.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors have named 19 people as suspects in last year's
\nrampage. However one of them, a militia leader has since been
\nkilled.<\/p>",
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