E. Timorese protesters leave Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): The 29 East Timorese students, occupying the U.S. embassy compound since Nov. 12, left Jakarta for asylum in Portugal yesterday.

Henry Fournier, head of the Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said that they flew out of the country on KLM flight 838 yesterday evening.

All 29 students, including one previously hospitalized for an infected wound, left the embassy compound aboard a bus for the Soekarno-Hatta airport.

They were reportedly headed for Amsterdam before continuing their journey to Portugal.

The East Timorese students accepted the Portuguese government's offer of asylum on Tuesday, Nov. 22, the 10th day of their sit-in action in the parking lot of the embassy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said yesterday that the government allowed the 29 East Timorese to leave the country based on a political considerations.

"This is a political decision ... All may leave," he told journalists after attending a meeting at the office of the Coordinating Minister for Politic Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman.

Alatas said the government would not hold Louis Mario Lopez even though he was suspected of a killing which occurred during a gang brawl in the capital.

"He is a suspect. He has yet to be brought to trial. We have to maintain the principles of the presumption of innocence," he said.

No problem

Soesilo said later that there was no problem with the exit of the East Timorese from the country.

"Let them go," he said.

On Wednesday, the American embassy officials moved the students from the parking lot into a building as preparations got underway to arrange their journey to Portugal.

According to Fournier, all of the students left Jakarta including the ailing one, Arlindo Freitas de Araujo Fernandez, 26, who was hospitalized on Nov. 18 at Persahabatan Hospital, East Jakarta.

"Arlindo has recovered and he is strong enough to travel," he said.

Antara reported that Arlindo and Bonaventura Abilio Moreida, another protester, who accompanied Arlindo while he was treated, left the hospital yesterday afternoon. They were riding in an embassy car with license plate number CD 12 48. They entered the embassy courtyard at 2:10 p.m.

The Red Cross representative, Fournier, said that their departure yesterday was made possible because all of their travel arrangements were completed. They did not use passports, but were traveling with Red Cross travel documents, he said.

"Red Cross travel documents are not only used by people with political reasons, but also can be used by people who have lost their passports in a foreign country, which does not have a representative office, or embassy, of their country," he said

He added that Red Cross travel documents are only valid for a one-way journey. (mas/sim)