Militia members attack UN post in East Timor: Official

Militia members attack UN post in East Timor: Official

JAKARTA (JP): A 100-strong group of pro-Jakarta militiamen
attacked an unarmed UN outpost in East Timor on Tuesday, injuring
a foreign electoral officer and several East Timorese, a UN
official said.

"One UNAMET staff member, a woman district electoral officer
of South African nationality, suffered a minor injury to her leg
and several East Timorese suffered head and other injuries," the
official of the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) told The
Jakarta Post in quoting a statement.

The incident is the first reported violence against the UN
mission since it began work in East Timor last month ahead of
August's scheduled ballot to determine the future of the
province.

In Jakarta on Tuesday, 60 proindependence and prointegration
groups were gathering for peace talks at the Sheraton Bandara
Hotel. They are scheduled to end on Wednesday.

UNAMET said the attack on its regional office in Maliana,
Bobonaro regency, about 80 kilometers southwest of the provincial
capital of Dili, happened at about 10 a.m.

The attackers were from "a group estimated at about 100
militia who were among a larger crowd who had gathered outside
the office.

"The militia threw rocks and stones at the office where UNAMET
staff were present" in addition to local people who had taken
shelter in the building.

"The UNAMET office was considerably damaged," the statement
said. It added that a more complete report would be issued when
the mission's chief security officer returned to Dili after
rushing to the site.

A witness in Maliana told the Post that the attack was led by
Juliao Soares, a local military member. She added that members of
the militia also attacked three nearby houses and two UN cars.

The government said the attack on the UNAMET office was the
result of a brawl between supporters and opponents of
independence, but denied it was a deliberate act against the
organization.

"Not at all. Any insinuation in that direction is completely
wrong," spokesman for the Task Force for the Implementation of
the Popular Consultation in East Timor Dino Patti Djalal was
quoted as saying by Reuters.

At the Jakarta peace talks, member of the National Commission
on Human Rights Clementino dos Reis Amaral said the commission
insisted that police should investigate the matter.

"For any reason, the UNAMET cannot be assaulted," he said.

The country's image and the trust of the UN in Indonesia was
at stake, he added.

AFP quoted Anicetto Guterres of the private Justice and Peace
Commission in Dili as saying that he received reports from locals
in Maliana that dozens of militiamen attacked the post. He said
they were armed with wooden clubs and rocks, but not with
firearms.

"I've only heard of one person being injured, maybe from
shattered glass when a rock hit," he was quoted as saying.

Guterres said the local police station was about one kilometer
from the UNAMET office but a smaller police post was situated
across from the building. Police did not arrive on the scene
until after the attack, he said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has ordered a two-week delay
in the vote, originally scheduled for Aug. 8, partly because of
the continuing violence in the province.

The military backed militia has been blamed for most of the
violence in East Timor since January, when the government first
announced it would consider granting independence to the former
Portuguese colony if its people rejected an autonomy offer.

Indonesia and Portugal agreed in May that the UN would send in
contingents of unarmed civilian police and electoral officers to
supervise the vote. Indonesian police are responsible for
security. (byg/33/imn/anr)