Man gets one year for insult

JAKARTA (JP): Joao do Rosario Pires Al Joaou, a 24-year-old East Timorese, was sentenced yesterday to a year in prison for insulting President Soeharto last November, Antara reported.

The panel of judges in the district court, East Timor, was led by Agustinus L. Rungu. He said the youth was also guilty of "undermining the government and tarnishing the name of Dili Bishop" Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.

The sentence was the same as that demanded by prosecutor Budi Ardiyanto.

The news agency said Joaou had waved a banner, bearing an insulting picture of the President, during a press briefing held by Belo on his controversial interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel. Local and foreign journalists attended the briefing on Nov. 25, 1996.

Joaou admitted he had waved the placard for five minutes, despite warnings from the crowd.

"Some people said the placard was bad, but I held on to it for five minutes, even though I didn't understand the meaning of that picture," Joaou said.

He also admitted yelling "viva Xanana" and "viva Belo" with his friends, but said: "I didn't understand what those words meant."

Xanana Gusmao is an East Timorese separatist leader now serving time in the Cipinang prison, East Jakarta.

"I didn't know that the picture of President (held alongside) the picture of Xanana would be categorized as an insult to the President," Joaou said. "I'm really sorry for doing things I didn't really understand and because those things have now hurt me."

Witness Suryadi Sasmita said that Joaou had waved the insulting placard with the help of two other youths: Hanibal and another, whose identity is unknown. (swe)