Clashes continue in East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): One person died and several were injured on Sunday in a clash between groups for and against East Timorese independence in Hera, east of the capital of Dili, in a continuation of violence that killed at least 20 on Saturday.

Harsh international reaction followed Saturday's killings, including remarks from Australian Prime Minister John Howard to the effect that the Indonesian government was responsible for the increasing violence.

A prompt response came from President B.J. Habibie's spokeswoman, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, who said Jakarta, as the ruling authority, accepted responsibility for any deaths.

Howard was quoted by Reuters as saying: "I am very concerned at the way in which the situation has deteriorated and the Indonesian government cannot escape responsibility for at least some of that, if not all of it."

Howard said he would contact Indonesian President B.J. Habibie to express Australia's "deep concern" at the Dili killings and the "growing evidence" that Indonesian troops are not acting to prevent the killings by pro-Jakarta militiamen.

"You would have to wonder whether these pro-integration militiamen are not getting some kind of permissive response from the Indonesian army," Howard said in a television interview.

At least 20 people, including the nephew of former governor Mario Vegas Carrascalao and son of pro-independence fighter Manuel Carrascalao, were confirmed dead when armed pro-Indonesian militiamen rampaged unchecked through Dili on Saturday.

Reuters quoted Dewi as saying: "It's our responsibility because we are the only ones here. We condemn the act of violence... and we hope that it won't disturb the agenda for next week's meeting of foreign ministers.

"What we want is a peaceful solution. If East Timorese stay with Indonesia, we want that to be peaceful, and if they separate we want to have peaceful relations with East Timor."

The foreign ministers of Indonesia and Portugal, Ali Alatas and Jaime Gama, are scheduled to meet in New York from Thursday for UN-sponsored talks on a ballot to allow the former Portuguese colony to choose between independence and enhanced autonomy within Indonesia.

In New York on Saturday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the new upsurge of violence and said he regretted Indonesia's inability to control militias loyal to Jakarta.

Annan said he "strongly deplores these new acts of violence and regrets this apparent inability of the Indonesian authorities to control the violence by militias to protect the civilian population". He called "for an immediate end to this escalation of violence by all sides".

Meanwhile, tension continued to shroud Dili and surrounding areas as rumors circulated among residents that further violence would take place on Monday.

Dili Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo on Sunday prayed over the bodies of 12 victims of Saturday's violence and asked the military to guarantee the safety of civilians, Antara said.

Meanwhile, a visiting team from the National Commission on Human Rights spent Sunday lobbying to enable relatives to claim bodies from the military hospital for proper burial.

Member Koesparmono Irsan told The Jakarta Post on Sunday the commission had met Manuel Carrascalao, who said he was still unable to retrieve the body of his son, Mario, 18. Police later said permission would be granted to relatives wishing to take the bodies.

Manuel expressed worry that his son, and 11 others who died at his home in an attack by a mob of armed prointegrationists, would be given a mass burial.

"All (victims) have families and we appeal to the commission to help us (retrieve them) so they are not given a mass burial," Manuel said as quoted by Koesparmono.

Rights body members met Manuel at the home of Belo, to seek his support for the newly formed East Timor Independent National Commission on Human Rights. Manuel was among several figures recommended to the commission by jailed independence fighter Alexandre Xanana Gusmao.

The East Timor rights body is to comprise some 50 people, representing all parties, in a bid to secure peace in the province.

Also on Sunday, the commission visited the representative of the International Commission of the Red Cross, Truls Toggenburger, who said his organization had not been given access to Liquica regency, the site where scores were killed in early April.

Commission deputy Djoko Soegijanto said in the meeting that Belo raised "reasonable" demands that law and order be upheld in the province. Belo had cited arbitrary shooting, burning and looting by armed civilians while the Armed Forces did not take adequate action.

Meanwhile, East Timor Police are sheltering 64 people, including 48 from Maubara in Liquica regency, who were part of 124 people sheltered at Manuel's home in Dili during the attack. They were some of the refugees fleeing their homes in the past two months citing intimidation by prointegration groups. (33/anr)