Preparations for ballot continue despite violence

DILI, East Timor (JP): Preparations will continue for the direct ballot which will determine East Timor's future despite Thursday's violence, a representative of the United Nations said on Friday.

United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) chief Ian Martin said the ballot would go ahead as planned on Monday.

"We continue to make all the preparations necessary to open polling stations throughout East Timor on Monday," Martin said, adding, however, that security concerns remained in the territory's western districts of Bobonaro, Covalima Ainaro and Manufahi.

The western districts of East Timor are known to be strongholds of prointegration militias.

More than 451,000 people have registered to participate in the ballot to decide whether the territory will remain a part of Indonesia with wide-ranging autonomy or become an independent state.

UNAMET said earlier it would open some 850 polling stations located in 200 polling centers throughout the province on Monday.

Proindependence leader Leandro Isaac of the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) said on Friday the violence on Thursday was instigated by prointegration militias, and was "a clear testimony that the authorities are not willing to fulfill their responsibility in accordance to the New York agreement signed in May".

Under the agreement, the Indonesian police are responsible for maintaining security in the province during the direct ballot.

The CNRT claimed at least four people were killed and nine more wounded during Thursday's violence.

Prointegration leader Lopez da Cruz, however, said the violence, which erupted during a proautonomy rally, was triggered by proindependence supporters.

"Proindependence supporters pelted stones and fired shots at a prointegration convoy in Bidau, East Dili, at 3:30 p.m.," Lopez said.

He said the incident triggered a counterattack by the Aitarak militia on the CNRT office in downtown Audian.

Lopez said two prointegration supporters, Virgilio Martins and Apolinario Pinto, and two proindependence supporters were killed in the violence. Six prointegration supporters were also injured in the incident, he added.

As families buried their dead, more than 400 people from the areas of Quintal Boot, Matadouro and Bemora in Audian fled to Santo Yoseph high school in Balide, East Dili, on early Friday, fearing further violence.

Meanwhile, witnesses said at least two people were killed and nine houses set on fire in an attack by a prointegration militia in Tapomemo village in Maliana, some 60 kilometers southwest of Dili, on Friday morning.

A witness said dozens of Tapomemo villagers fled to the nearby village of Pitgalag. However, authorities could not be immediately contacted to confirm the report.

Separately, Reuters reported from Lisbon that a photographer from United States-based Time magazine said on Friday he saw Indonesian police shoot dead a 25-year-old unarmed protester during Thursday's clashes.

The American photographer told Portugal's TSF radio that he photographed the killing in the East Timor capital of Dili on Thursday. He said the picture would be published by Time on Monday.

"The police shot him and turned around and walked away," said the photographer, who requested anonymity.

"The police were chasing a presumed supporter of independence who wore an emblem in support of (East Timorese independence leader) Xanana (Gusmao) on his hat. He (the youth) had obviously been involved in the clashes.

"They (police) ran up right close to him, maybe within two meters, and shot him in the back of the head. He died immediately," the photographer said.

Martin said UNAMET could not confirm any police shootings on Thursday.

From Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, it was reported that the last day of campaigning by prointegration supporters went smoothly.

In Yogyakarta, more complaints against UNAMET were raised.

A student from Gadjah Mada University, Zito Pinto Soares, 26, said the UN body and the International Organization for Migration did not allow more than 100 East Timorese from Yogyakarta and Central Java to register for the direct ballot.

He said the Muslim East Timorese were not allowed to register because they lacked church documents. "Doesn't UNAMET know there are many Muslim East Timorese?" (33/byg/bay/amd/27/23)