'E. Timorese not armed by ABRI'

'E. Timorese not armed by ABRI'

JAKARTA (JP): Amid escalating tension in East Timor, the Armed
Forces (ABRI) has denied supplying ammunition to the province to
terrorize pro-referendum East Timorese and to protect pro-
integration forces. Instead it has accused separatist
"disturbance groups" of being behind the recent killings and
terror.

"We have never armed pro-integration East Timorese terror
groups opposed to a referendum," ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto told
reporters after receiving three officers recently promoted to
four-star general at his office here on Wednesday.

The three promoted officers were Navy Chief of Staff Admiral
Widodo A.S., Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Hanifie Asnan, and
National Police Chief Gen. Roesmanhadi.

Wiranto, also the Minister of Defense and Security,
acknowledged that the military had long ago set up an armed
militia, known as wanra, to help it maintain security in East
Timor.

"The civilian resistance groups whose members are given a
monthly stipend have long been established, and they have been
stationed in military districts to maintain security and fight
against the local separatist movement," he said.

He added that it was impossible for these 'resistance groups'
to abuse their weapons and terrorize people because their
activities were supervised by the local military and closely
watched by local religious and social leaders.

Armed Forces spokesman Maj.Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif said last week
that the arming of civilians had been a "temporary" measure to
protect them from troublemakers.

Wiranto accused local "disturbance groups" of having
intensified their resistance to the military and pro-integration
groups following the government's recent announcement that East
Timor could be given independence if ongoing negotiations on its
offers of wide ranging autonomy should fail.

"The separatist groups should be blamed for the ongoing riots
and terror and the recent killings. And they should be held
responsible for the escalating political tension," he said.

Wiranto said terror has spread from Suai in Covalima regency
to other areas in the province and had led to thousands becoming
refugees.

Former East Timor governor Mario Viegas Carrascalao and other
figures have blamed the military for the escalating tension,
recent killings, and terror campaigns launched by armed civilians
against East Timorese supporting the pro-referendum group.

Xanana

Meanwhile Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
visited jailed East Timorese independence fighter Jose Alexandre
'Xanana' Gusmao at Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta on
Tuesday and held a hour-long discussion on the latest
developments in the province.

Abdurrahman requested that Xanana provide guarantees of safety
for pro-integration groups in East Timor, to which Xanana
assented.

"We are working on steps to restore peace in East Timor and
Xanana agreed on this. I was the one who initiated this visit,"
Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, informed reporters after
the meeting.

Abdurrahman said after the session which was organized by
Solidamor, a non-governmental organization advocating a peaceful
solution to the East Timor issue, that he had reiterated to
Xanana that he was in favor of the province being part of
Indonesia.

Xanana told Abdurrahman that Indonesia should disarm pro-
Indonesian civilians in East Timor in order to avert bloodshed.
Abdurrahman declined to say whether he was also making the same
demand of the government.

Xanana's lawyer Johnson Panjaitan said the biggest problem in
East Timor was the arming of about 20,000 civilians by the
Indonesian military, who he said paid the recruits Rp 250,000 to
300,000 a month.

"If we want to initiate peace in the province, one
prerequisite is for the military to disarm such civilian
militias. The distribution of weapons must be stopped," he said.

Xanana is waiting to be moved to a house owned by the
Indonesian justice ministry on Jl. Cipinang No. 5, East Jakarta,
adjacent to the East Jakarta Immigration office.

Also Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas met
Anna Gomes, the first Portuguese diplomat to be based in Jakarta.
She will head a diplomatic post called an interest section to
start normalizing relations between the two countries as UN-
sponsored talks on East Timor are underway.

Separately East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osoario Soares
called on all civil servants, including teachers in the province
to continue to serve the public and help defuse tension.

In Covalima regency, from where thousands of villagers have
fled following an attack by armed groups, regent Herman Sedyono
said contending groups there have agreed to reconciliation.

Bobonaro regent Guilherme dos Santos said Wednesday that all
regents and speakers of provincial and regency legislatures in
East Timor were scheduled to leave for Jakarta today to discuss
further the government's offer of wider ranging autonomy.
(rms/edt/33/har)