'Tiras' journalist attacked in Dili

'Tiras' journalist attacked in Dili

DILI (JP): A journalist was beaten unconscious Sunday night by
strangers mistaking him for an intelligence officer in the East
Timor capital of Dili, a press report said yesterday.

Gaudensius Mau, 30, who works for Jakarta-based Tiras weekly
and Dili's Suara Timor Timur, was on his way to a shop when eight
men attacked him.

Mau said at Dili General Hospital yesterday he could not
identify the men. He regained consciousness hours after the
incident to find himself lying in a hospital bed.

"The strangers said I was a flat foot and they assaulted me
there and then," said Gaudensius while still hooked to
intravenous devices.

The assault occurred after calm had returned to Dili after
last week's rallies by students and youths in support of Bishop
Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. The bishop has been in trouble for
allegedly accusing the government of treating the East Timorese
like "scabby dogs" and "slaves".

The reporter, who sustained injuries all over his body, said
his attackers would not listen when he told them he was not an
intelligence officer but a journalist.

Dili police precinct Chief Lt. Col. Beno Kalipong said the
authorities were investigating the incident to capture the
alleged attackers.

The police found Gaudensius lying unconscious, he said.

The incident has drawn condemnation from the local chapter of
the Indonesian Journalists Association who have called on the
people responsible to give themselves up.

The association's local branch chief Heri Yanto told local
journalists not to be discouraged by the incident and to continue
their jobs as usual. (03/pan)