Shooting of RI citizen protested

ATAMBUA, East Nusa Tenggara: After a one week probe into the recent death of Vegas Biliatu, an Indonesian citizen of East Timorese descent, the East Timor Community Council (Makasti), an organization of former East Timorese refugees, concluded on Saturday that the shooting by the East Timor Police was illegal.

Hukman Reni, the founder of Makasti, said here on Saturday that the East Timor government had to be held responsible for the shooting dead of an Indonesian citizen.

Hukman said that the investigation found that the bullet was fired at Vegas while he was wandering in the Tactical Coordination Line (TCL), an area that he said was part of Indonesia.

"The East Timor Police's action in shooting Vegas is illegal as the victim was not crossing the border between the two countries," said Hukman.

Vegas, an East Timor refugee who formerly lived in Raihat district in Belu regency, East Timor, was shot dead on Friday last week by Agent Agustinho, a member of the East Timor Police, on the grounds that the victim was entering East Timor illegally. --Antara