Two killed during attack in East Timor
Two killed during attack in East Timor
DILI, East Timor (JP): Two members of a proreferendum group
were killed on Sunday in an attack on a sentry post manned by
armed civilian guards in Ainaro regency.
Antara identified the victims as Julio of Maulo village and
Renaldo of Suro village. Ainaro is 250 kilometers south of Dili.
Col. Tono Suratman, chief of the East Timor Military District,
said the attack was launched by the group with assistance from
the Falintil separatist group, which has been waging a guerrilla
war from the forests.
He said the post was established by locals terrorized and
intimidated by anti-Indonesia groups in the regency.
Tono said the incident occurred at midday when about 100
people armed with knives, spears and arrows attacked the post and
tried to disarm the post guards.
The guards fired warning shots, but the attackers persisted.
He said the guards had no alternative but to open fire.
Tono regretted the incident because it occurred shortly after
Christmas. Most East Timorese are Catholic.
Blunder
Separately, Dili Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo warned the
Armed Forces (ABRI) here on Monday not to repeat the blunder made
by Portugal when it abandoned East Timor 24 years ago, leaving
locals armed to fight each other in a civil war.
In a gathering with local military officers, including Tono,
Belo referred to the planned establishment of a civilian militia
to secure the June 7 general election.
"The war traumatized many people and it is felt even now," he
said.
Belo stated ABRI would need to "properly" supervise the
militia and provide "proportional" training if the plan was
realized.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians -- estimates range from
100,000 to 500,000 -- were reportedly killed during the civil war
that raged for decades in the territory. It integrated into
Indonesia in 1976.
Belo urged ABRI to stay neutral in any societal disputes that
broke out in the province, whether they involved proindependence
or prointegration groups.
"I hope that as we enter 1999, both ABRI chiefs and all its
rank and file do not side with one particular group in disputes,
including those who are proindependence and those who are
proautonomy.
"By so doing, ABRI hopefully will be neutral and embrace all
groups in the society and so be loved by the East Timorese
people," said the Nobel Peace laureate.
He also demanded that ABRI always uphold the law, which would
reduce human rights violations.
He cited cases where the military ignored intergroup fights in
society, especially in rural areas.
Belo reiterated that political solutions were needed for the
problems in the troubled territory and that he, backed by the
Vatican, supported the talks sponsored by the United Nations.
(33/rms/aan)