Calm returns to ravaged East Timor, military says

Calm returns to ravaged East Timor, military says

JAKARTA (JP): Calm has returned to East Timor in the past 48
hours after martial law was declared in the violence-torn
territory, the military and locals said Thursday.

Chief of the Security Restoration Operation Command in East
Timor Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri told The Jakarta Post from the
territory's capital Dili that "the situation has not been fully
restored, but it is now much better".

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Wiranto said
following a call on President B.J. Habibie at Merdeka Palace that
there were no further signs of unrest or the sound of gunfire. He
said troops were escorting refugees to their destinations and
providing them with food.

"The situation has greatly improved in East Timor,
particularly Dili. I believe the condition will return to normal
in the near future," Wiranto, concurrently defense and security
minister, said.

He said security personnel were instructed to use tough
measures against anyone found breaking the law.

The government imposed martial law in the former Portuguese
colony at midnight on Monday following an orgy of violence and
vandalism which caused dozens of deaths and a massive exodus to
the territory's western border with East Nusa Tenggara.

Wiranto said his main concern was food shortages facing
displaced people, who fled their homes in fear of attack from
rampaging armed militias.

A local staff member of the United Nations Mission in East
Timor (UNAMET) told the Post by phone from Dili that the
situation was relatively calm but gunshots were still heard
outside his office where he was sheltered.

He suspected thick smoke outside was from burning houses.

"The closest gunshot I heard was about 300 meters from here,"
said the man, who identified himself as Monis. "The feeling of
fear remains because the sound of gunshots continues."

Streets and houses are deserted and economic activities have
yet to resume, with banks and shops shut, he added.

"But thank God the electricity and telephones are functioning
again after a total blackout for almost 24 hours on Wednesday."

The local water company, seaport and airport have also
gradually resumed business, he said.

He said that in an unusual humanitarian operation, the
military delivered food supplies on Thursday to UNAMET
headquarters, where dozens of people have taken refuge.

"It's the first time that TNI has given food supplies but I
don't know what the food was," he added.

Xanana's father

The semblance of order came despite continuing reports of
attacks on civilians.

Speculation was rife on Thursday concerning the fate of the
83-year-old father of East Timor proindependence leader Jose
Alexander "Xanana" Gusmao.

AFP quoted an unnamed source close to Xanana as saying that
Manuel Gusmao was killed in Dili on Wednesday.

"Manuel's body has been found and we have cross-checked that
the body is his," the source said, adding that UNAMET officials
searched for Manuel for six days before they found his body.

The source could not give the specific time and cause of
death of Gusmao, who lived in a house in front of Dili Cathedral
with his wife, daughter and son-in-law.

Another source close to Xanana earlier said that Gusmao's name
was on a list of people killed which was compiled by nuns and
priests fleeing the territory.

One of Xanana's lawyers, Johnson Panjaitan, told the Post he
received the report of Gusmao's death but was seeking more
information.

"The news has been confirmed but we still need to clarify some
details," Johnson said.

Another Xanana lawyer, Hendardi, refused to speculate about
the report, saying he needed to check it with his sources in
Dili.

"It's difficult to contact Dili. My staff are still trying,"
he said.

Syahnakri denied the report of Gusmao's death. "He has been
evacuated but we're still trying to confirm to where."

Meanwhile, the Catholic Canossian order said on Thursday four
of its nuns were killed in a pro-Jakarta militia attack in
Baucau, about 90 kilometers east of Dili, on Wednesday.

CNN reported that the head of the Catholic aid agency Caritas
in East Timor, Father Francisco Barreto, was also killed by the
pro-Jakarta militia in an attack outside Dili on Wednesday.

Sister Gabriella, head of the Canossian convent in Jakarta,
told the Post that she received the report of the killings from
the order office in Australia.

"We do not know whether the report is true, but there are 70
Canossian sisters working in East Timor whose fate is unknown,"
she said.

Fourteen Canossian sisters arrived in Jakarta from refugee
shelters in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Thursday, while 27
others arrived at midnight from Dili, she said.

Caritas Australia chairman Bishop Hilton Deakin said in a
statement on Thursday that he also received reports that other
local Caritas East Timor staff members might have been killed.
(emf/prb/gis/lem)