Tension grips E. Timor as UN talks continue

JAKARTA (JP): Tension shrouded East Timor on Saturday after an estimated 5,100 people fleeing attacks by armed prointegrationists sought refuge in a church and Catholic school in the southern coastal town of Suai, a rights activist said.

Clashes this week between proponents and opponents of the integration of Indonesia's youngest province have left six people dead in the district of Covalima, southeast of the provincial capital, Dili, said Florentino Sarmento of the local office of the National Commission on Human Rights.

"The number of refugees has reached 5,100, some of them are sheltered in a newly built church... and a Catholic school in Suai," he said.

The hostilities are fueling fears of a return to civil war if Indonesia ultimately carries through with a bombshell proposal -- made by President B.J. Habibie on Wednesday -- to consider independence for East Timor, possibly as early as next year.

On Friday, a clash occurred between integrationists and proindependence groups in front of the Mahkota Hotel in Dili, Antara said.

Wira Dharma Military commander Col. Tono Suratman was briefing a meeting at the hotel when armed prointegration youths guarding the gathering suddenly opened fire to prevent the advance of dozens of rival activists.

No fatalities were reported in the ensuing clash.

On Saturday, about 500 people laid flowers on graves in Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili where the Indonesian military shot at a crowd of mourners in 1991.

The official death toll from the incident was 50.

"We demand independence. We don't want full autonomy," one participant of the peaceful protest shouted.

Rights activists have blamed the spate of violence on the government's decision to arm prointegrationists.

"Those who support integration have been intimidated and terrorized by proindependence groups," Sarmento said. "Their houses and belongings have been burned. So far 30 of them have been killed. So they are using weapons to defend themselves.

"But some groups have misused the weapons to attack their political opponents, those who support East Timor's independence."

Meanwhile, the United Nations and Portugal appealed for an end to the violence lest it jeopardize negotiations which began on Thursday on the future of the territory.

"What I am not very happy about, quite frankly, is a deterioration in the law and order situation," said Jamsheed Marker, the UN mediator on current autonomy talks on East Timor between Portugal, the former colonial power, and Indonesia.

"(Please do not) allow the radical elements on any side to destroy this process or divert it because we are getting close to a solution," he was quoted by Antara as saying in New York.

Marker said he hoped to wind up negotiations by Feb. 5. Talks cover a wide-ranging autonomy package after which the foreign ministers of Indonesia and Portugal will meet UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan.

"We are hopeful about having a document ready. The secretary- general and the foreign ministers will consider the next phase," he said.

However, chief of Portugal's interest section in Indonesia, Ana Gomes, said on Saturday Habibie's proposal would have an impact on ongoing talks.

Details of the proposal will be discussed by the Portuguese and Indonesian foreign ministers in the near future, Gomes said shortly after arriving at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Gomes said she planned to call on Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and jailed rebel leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao.

The opening of interest sections in Jakarta and Lisbon was one of the accords reached by the countries last year in their efforts to seek a peaceful and final solution to the East Timor question. Portugal is posting its envoy at the Dutch embassy in Jakarta, with Jakarta's representative to operate from the Thai embassy in Lisbon.

Meanwhile, a nurse at the Dili state hospital said it was effectively closed since Tuesday because hospital staff feared for their lives after two doctors were beaten up in an attack triggered by the death of a child patient.

She added that some paramedics continued to treat patients in the hospital despite the fear of more attacks.

The Indonesian Medical Association has appealed for government protection for the health workers. (edt/swe)