Flag burned in East Timor

DILI, East Timor: A group of people yesterday attempted to incite rioting among hundreds of East Timorese mourning the death of a nun by burning the country's flag during the funeral.

The effort met with a cold response from the mourners at the Santa Cruz public cemetery however. Students and young people stepped back from the group, which dispersed and eventually left the cemetery.

Sr. Maria Benedicta died in a traffic accident on Monday, an incident which almost caused rioting by some 100 angry youths. Dili Bishop Mgr. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo managed to calm the youths and so prevented trouble occurring.

Belo also persuaded the youths to join a mass ceremony, during which he told them that the death was the will of God. He called on them to pray for her. (29/31)