Foreign press get marching orders

Foreign press get marching orders

DILI, East Timor (JP): Three American journalists and one
Briton were given marching orders by the military yesterday for
visiting East Timor without the consent of the authorities.

East Timor Military Chief Col. Kiki Syahnakri said the four
men were put on a flight to Denpasar, Bali.

They were identified as Jeff Widener and Craig Fujii of the
Associated Press, Jonathan Drake of Reuters and Simon Beardsell
of Worldwide Television News (WTN). Widener, Fujii and Drake are
Americans and Beardsell is a Briton.

In Jakarta, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the
authorities found anti-government posters on one of the
journalists. The authorities are investigating whether the
posters had been placed in his bag without his knowledge. If that
was the case, he would be allowed back.

Another journalist came in on a tourist visa which is clearly
against regulation while the other two were accredited to cover
the OPEC meeting, and not to visit East Timor.

The ministry also said that about 30 journalists have been
allowed to visit East Timor in the past week and that as a matter
of policy, foreign journalists are welcome but they have to
follow established procedures.

Col. Kiki however said yesterday that the presence of foreign
journalists have fanned the situation in East Timor.

He stressed that contrary to foreign press reports, the people
who oppose the integration of East Timor make up a small
minority. The majority of the East Timorese are for the
integration of the territory with Indonesia, he added.

"We haven't had a demonstration like this for some time. They
only occurred because of the presence of the foreign
journalists," he said.

He was referring to a series of events in the East Timor
capital over the past week, including an outbreak of violence for
three days running early last week and an anti-integration
demonstration outside the Roman Catholic Cathedral on Friday.

The expulsion is the latest brush between the authorities and
foreign journalists.

Last week, the East Timor military expelled an Australian
journalist who was in Dili on a tourist visa. The military has
also accused a reporter for the Japanese television network NHK
of choreographing a demonstration to dramatize his coverage.

Armed Forces Commander in Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung, during a
rare press briefing with foreign journalists in Jakarta on
Saturday, also pointed out that some of their reporting has not
been fair to Indonesia. He said he believed that this was largely
caused by ignorance rather than by purpose.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, a group of young East Timorese continued
their sit-in at the parking lot of the American embassy
yesterday.

One of the 29 youths, identified as 26-year-old Arlindo Priti
Freitas de Araujo Fernandez, was taken by embassy officials to
the Persahabatan state hospital in East Jakarta for a treatment
on Sunday.

"Arlindo had fever when he was admitted and we're still making
some tests to diagnose his illness," Abu Purwanto, one of the
hospital's director, said yesterday.

Abu said the patient is still under the U.S. embassy
protection but he expected that the Indonesian government will
foot his medical bill.

Waiting outside the room which Arlindo shared with two other
patients was the embassy's first secretary Thomas Murphy.

Arlindo, who is registered as a student at the Sanata Dharma
University in Yogyakarta, yesterday said he was much better now.

"The hospital had suggested that I move to a special room,
where I do not have to share with other patients, but I chose to
have this room because I like their company and I do not like
being alone when I am sick," he told journalists.

Arlindo suspected that he was having another bout of malaria
which he acquired a few years ago.

The protesters at the embassy originally demanded to see U.S.
President Bill Clinton or Secretary of State Warren Christopher,
both in town for the APEC meeting. They also demanded the release
of Jose Alexandre Xanana Gusmao, who is serving a 17-year prison
term for leading an armed rebellion in East Timor.

All their requests were turned down. (yac/emb/mas)

Presence -- Page 2