24 apprehended in E. Timor protest

24 apprehended in E. Timor protest

DILI, East Timor (JP): Local police chief Col. Andreas Sugianto said security authorities arrested 24 people in a new pro-independence demonstration here yesterday.

Several dozen people staged the demonstration at the East Timor University, where police also seized 10 posters containing anti integration-messages and demands for the release of rebel leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, now jailed in Jakarta.

Andreas told The Jakarta Post that police had discovered that the demonstrators were not students but people who used the campus to dramatize their political demands.

Security officers had blocked the campus yesterday and Andreas said they tightened security on the campus last night.

Eyewitnesses said that the demonstration started at approximately 9.30 a.m. when a group of youths unfurled banners and chanted slogans when they entered the university.

Their presence provoked a quarrel with students. The intruders ran away when security personnel, firing several warning shots, arrived at the scene.

The tumult continued in nearby streets when angry students pelted passing vehicles with stones. Many shops and offices were closed, apparently in fear of vandalism.

Eyewitnesses also said that security authorities stopped several foreigners from filming the incident and escorted them from the area.

Security officers, many in anti-riot gear, across the town were seen tightening their vigilance.

The incident happened as Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas and Portuguese counterpart Jose Durao Barroso were about to start talks on the East Timor question in Geneva, under the auspices of UN Secretary General Boutros-Boutros Ghali.

The former Portuguese colony integrated into Indonesia in 1976 but the UN is yet to recognize it. (yac/pan)