Falintil responsible for slaying: ABRI
Falintil responsible for slaying: ABRI
BOBONARO, East Timor (JP): Four Ritabou villagers, including
two teenagers, from Maliana subdistrict, were shot to death by
masked men on Friday, but as of Sunday tight security delayed
their funerals.
The military has accused the proindependence Falintil armed
wing to be behind the crime, but the latter assert the military
was responsible.
The killings occurred in the village's Maliubu hamlet, about
145 kilometers west of East Timor's capital, Dili.
As of Sunday, the bodies of Pedro Asa Mali, 30, Joao Ruben
Barros, 11, Foincega Gomes, 12 and Domingos Manu Mau, 25, were
not buried, as villagers were barred by military personnel from
entering the hamlet.
Bobonaro military chief Lt. Col. Burhanudin Siagian, said he
would issue a shoot-on-site order if villagers forced their way
into the hamlet.
"I won't allow them to enter because I have information that
they will parade the bodies in a street demonstration," he told
The Jakarta Post.
Catholic priest Francisco Tavares slammed the military
directive, saying it interrupted the final rites and delayed the
funerals.
Bobonaro coordinator of the National Resistance Council for an
Independent East Timor (CNRT), Manuel Magalhes, also criticized
the decision.
"The tight security is useless after victims have fallen," he
said, adding that a prointegration group, Halilintar, was behind
the killings.
On Friday, a witness said six members of the Halilintar
prointegration group opened fire on houses in the hamlet, two of
them belonging to the late Pedro Asa Mali and Olevio Barros.
Apart from the four killed, others who sustained bullet wounds
were Esmenia Maculada, 11, Narcisia Dau Manu, 18, Carlito da
Costa, 24, and his sister Lucia da Costa, 18 and Mateus de Jesus,
28.
All the victims were rushed to a church clinic in neighboring
Moleana hamlet by Francisco Tavares.
The assailants also stole about Rp 1 million (US$110) in cash,
a tape recorder and shirts from Olevio's house, according to
Carlos.
He said the group was searching for some villagers they
suspected of supporting the movement for an independent East
Timor.
"The military must be held responsible for the assassination
because they have provided weapons for the group," CNRT's Manuel
said.
But Burhanudin insisted he had proof against the Falintil. An
"independent team" would be welcomed to investigate the incident,
he said.
Autonomy
Meanwhile, Makarim Wibisono, the country's permanent
representative to the United Nations (UN), said on Saturday the
government was still working on its autonomy proposal for East
Timor. He said the completed proposal would be discussed by
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and his Portuguese
counterpart, Jaime Gama, in New York on April 22.
"Therefore, it is better for me to get first-hand information
from people here," he said after meeting with local leaders
including Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.
Makarim deplored the earlier kidnapping and killing of some
Armed Forces soldiers and said the violence would also be
discussed during the tripartite talks under the auspices of UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Bishop Belo expressed his grief over the shortages of medicine
and food supplies and the departure of many paramedics from the
province. He said many teachers had also stopped working because
of the worsening situation in the former Portuguese colony.
He urged both proindependence and prointegration groups to
show the people they are working for the sake of the public's
interests.
"Until now the proindependence group has managed only to give
promises without concrete action for people's welfare," the
bishop told Antara. (aan/33/prb)