Three dead in last day of campaign

By Budiman Moerdijat and Dwi Atmanta

DILI, East Timor (JP): At least three men were shot dead and several others wounded on Thursday in sporadic clashes here that tarnished the penultimate day of campaigning for Monday's vote on the province's future.

The clashes, which pitted independence supporters against integrationists, broke out in Kuluhun subdistrict in the eastern part of town, only hours after the authorities announced that peace had prevailed ahead the landmark self-determination vote.

There were no reports of arrests following the clashes.

Proindependence supporter Atanacio Muniz, 23, died after he was shot in the head, while Ejildo da Costa, 27, was killed from gunshot wounds to the chest. Their bodies were admitted to the Motael polyclinic.

Witnesses said another man, identified as Bernardio, a student of Jember University in East Java, was shot to death at close range in front of a nunnery from the St. Paul of Charters Order. Some of the nuns placed lighted candles near the spot.

Unconfirmed reports said other fatalities in the violence were Metta Araujo, Oktavio dos Santos and Limo.

Five other people, including Reuters photographer Bea Wiharta, were injured by gunshot wounds. They underwent surgery to remove bullets at the polyclinic later in the evening.

Another journalist, Kornelius Ama of Kompas daily, was beaten by angry residents, who also burned his motorcycle.

A man wearing a red and white T-shirt was stabbed in the abdomen when he drove through the Kuluhun area. Residents also smashed the windshield of the van he and his friends were in.

The subdistrict has been called one of the proindependence force's strongholds.

A number of prointegration militiamen, dressed in military fatigues and green berets, aimed their guns at journalists covering the incident before the eyes of some Mobile Brigade police personnel. Some militiamen were seen carrying semi- automatic rifles.

Earlier, a police officer lost his composure when he was greeted by a barrage of complaints from residents over the security authorities' failure to cope with the armed attacks. He was involved in a brief quarrel with residents before hundreds of enforcement troops arrived.

The type of bullets which had killed and wounded the residents was not immediately known. The residents challenged gun-wielding militiamen with stones, swords and iron and wooden poles. Police fired warning shots to quell the clashes.

A group of people also attacked a proindependence office situated some two kilometers from Kuluhun.

As night fell, the town remained tense. A group of people wearing black T-shirts and carrying swords and home-made pistols were seen standing near a crossroad close to the Governor's office. Others were seen walking along the street heading to Komoro airport.

Some journalists fled their hotels and rented houses to gather at Mahkota Hotel, fearing further violence.

A Kuluhun resident, Hermene Guido Lobato, said the incident was sparked by prointegration supporters who came to the subdistrict in a motorcade and damaged a picture of proindependence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao. A house was set on fire and two others were attacked in the afternoon clash.

A police officer, Lt. Col. JJ Simbolon, blamed the prointegration group for violating an earlier agreement not to enter areas known as strongholds of their rivals.

Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of prointegration supporters gathered for a campaign rally at Pramuka soccer field. Several singers from Jakarta, including rocker Renny Jayusman, added life to the gathering.

In his spirited speech, Aitarak militia commander Eurico Guterres told the crowd to fight to keep the former Portuguese colony under Jakarta's control with greater autonomy.

"Those who demand independence are just frustrated people. There will be no real independence if the wide-ranging autonomy is rejected," he said, adding that prointegration militias were prepared to start a guerrilla resistance if the proindependence camp wins Tuesday's ballot.

In a joint press conference earlier in the day, spokesman for provincial police Capt. Widodo DS, spokesman for the Government Task Force for Popular Consultation in East Timor Dino Patti Djalal and member of the Commission on Security and Stability (KPS) BN Marbun, hailed supporters of the two factions for maintaining order and peace.