One person dies, five injured in E. Timor shooting
One person dies, five injured in E. Timor shooting
JAKARTA (JP): At least one person was shot dead and five
others were injured yesterday when security personnel fired on a
mob surrounding their vehicle, which was escorting three European
Union ambassadors in Baucau, East Timor's second largest city.
The dead man was identified as Orlando Marcellino, a 35-year-
old farmer.
About 5,000 demonstrators had rallied in front of Baucau's St.
Antonio Cathedral to welcome the Jakarta-based envoys, who
arrived in two vans.
The ambassadors were scheduled to hold talks with Bishop
Bacilio Do Nascimento.
The situation, however, turned violent when a third van
arrived with several security agents carrying automatic weapons.
"The people got angry because the security officials came here
with guns," Vilidiu Gusmao, 32, a lay member of the church's
Justice and Peace Commission, was quoted by Associated Press as
saying.
He said several shots were fired directly into a mob that had
surrounded the vehicle and was pounding and kicking at its doors
and windows.
It was the second death reported during the ambassadors' visit
to the province. On Saturday, a man was reportedly shot to death
in a scuffle between prointegration and anti-integration crowds
in the provincial capital.
The three ambassadors -- Britain's Robin Christopher,
Austria's Viktor Segalla and the Netherlands' Paul Brouwer --
arrived Saturday for the four-day visit.
Their mission is unique since EU ambassadors, whose respective
countries do not recognize the integration of East Timor into
Indonesia, do not personally go to the former Portuguese colony.
Their presence has sparked waves of demonstrations, both
prointegration and anti-integration, which have often ended in
clashes.
Governor Jose Abilio Soares warned yesterday against anarchy,
saying authorities would take strict action to maintain order.
"I'm sure that Bishop Belo will certainly agree with me to
respect other people's rights and to take strict action against
all those involved in anarchic actions," he said as quoted by
Antara, referring to one of the province's two Nobel laureates.
Brig. Gen. William T. da Costa, chief of staff of the Udayana
Military Command, yesterday blamed Fretilin guerrillas for the
shooting death of 21-year-old Manuel Marcus, killed in Manatuto
on Saturday.
"We have investigated it and the shooting must have come from
the guerrilla group," he said in Dili yesterday.
In Jakarta, the government again reiterated its stance against
calls for a referendum in the province.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and Minister of Justice
Muladi separately said yesterday the move would only cause more
suffering to the people of the country's youngest territory.
"A referendum would not guarantee that problems would be
totally solved. It would rather worsen disputes within East Timor
and could even lead to civil war," Alatas told journalists after
attending a plenary session of the House of Representatives.
Designating the province "a special province with larger
autonomy", a status to be deliberated multilaterally instead of
being given unilaterally by the Indonesian government, would be
better than a referendum, he said. (rms/aan)