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)