Mon, 30 Oct 2000

East Timorese children

The Melbourne newspaper The Age is reporting that over 100 East Timorese children are languishing in orphanages in Central Java, having been deceitfully separated from their parents in refugee camps in West Timor by the pro-integration militia.

Apparently the target of indoctrination and abuse, these youngsters would seem to be the equivalent of the tragic Greek children abducted by the Greek communists and marched away into the Soviet Union.

Jakarta must respond immediately to this report and investigate. If found to be true and left unaddressed, it is another stain on the country's reputation.

David Jardine

Jakarta