Evans expresses concern over Liquisa incident

Evans expresses concern over Liquisa incident

JAKARTA (JP): Australia's Foreign Minister Gareth Evans
yesterday expressed concern about the alleged killings of East
Timorese civilians in the town of Liquisa by Armed Forces (ABRI)
personnel.

"We're very concerned about the news that civilians may have
been killed," Evans said in Jakarta yesterday.

However, Evans was quick to add that he was "pleased" about
Jakarta's swift reaction, in launching a military inquiry along
with other investigations by the National Commission on Human
Rights into the Jan. 12 incident.

"We of course are now prepared to wait and see what fruit
comes from those investigations," he said, following a two-and-
half-hour meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Ali Alatas.

Evans' two-day stay here marks the end of his Southeast Asian
tour which included Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei.

Ali Alatas told journalists that during the meeting he had
informed Evans of the steps being taken by the Indonesian
government to investigate the Liquisa matter.

"It shows that our government is quick to respond to whatever
allegations may have been put forward, and it shows that we are
not indifferent to such reports," he said.

In what was initially described as armed contacts with
Fretilin separatists, the Liquisa incident evoked an
international outcry when reports surfaced alleging that the six
East Timorese killed had not been rebels but unarmed civilians.

Through their embassy in Jakarta, the United States, Canada,
New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Australia expressed concern
about the reported killings.

This uproar prompted President Soeharto to order his ministers
to establish a military inquiry board in the form of an Officers'
Honorary Council whose membership is yet to be announced.

However, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung had already
told the House of Representatives on Monday that, based on
reports from the regional military commander, only two of the six
killed were rebels while the other four were civilians being
recruited by Fretilin.

He insisted that they had been killed during a shootout and
rejected suggestions that they had been ordinary, unarmed
civilians.

Pressure

Minister Alatas yesterday denied suggestions that Indonesia
had launched the inquiry only after being subjected to
international pressure.

He argued that in the beginning Jakarta did not react because
there were only reports of military contacts with rebel factions.

"Only later were there all kinds of reports, mostly in the
press and mostly from other sources, alleging that it had not
been a military contact but that civilians had been shot without
any reason. It was then that we reacted to these reports," he
explained.

The launching of a military inquiry conjures up memories of a
similar inquiry which was held following the 1991 Dili incident
when over 50 people were killed in a clash between security
forces and demonstrators.

Since the integration of the former Portuguese colony as part
of Indonesia in 1976, East Timor has often been described as a
pebble in the shoe of relations between Jakarta and Canberra.

Despite saying that there were "no big problems" in
yesterday's meeting between "two countries who are very close
friends," Evans said that the situation in East Timor "continues
to be a problem."

"We think that some kind of autonomous political status would
be a helpful and appropriate way of moving forward, combined with
a significant draw down of the military presence to that which is
applicable in other provinces," he said.

He further called for new initiatives and the start of a
reconciliation process to improve the situation, especially for
the province's younger people, whom Evans suggested were becoming
"disaffected."

Nevertheless, in an apparent gesture to his host and
counterpart, who was standing next to him, Evans commented that
these matters were for the Indonesian government to try to
resolve.

"I hope that it will be possible for that to happen," he
remarked. (mds)