Two killed on eve of East Timor ballot

DILI, East Timor (JP): Two people were killed in a clash between pro-Jakarta and proindependence groups here on Sunday, the eve of the landmark ballot on the troubled territory's future.

The violence erupted only a few hours after leaders of the proindependence armed group Falintil and pro-Jakarta forces pledged at a press conference at the office of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) to ensure a peaceful atmosphere for Monday's popular consultation.

East Timor Police spokesman Capt. Widodo D.S. told reporters on Sunday that autonomy supporters Lacido Ximenes and Selestino were killed in the East Dili area of Becora.

Widodo also said violence between the rival factions in Ambeno regency on Saturday had killed at least four people and seriously injured three more. In addition, 37 houses, two cars and six motorcycles were set on fire.

Earlier, the warring factions were united in blaming a third party for spreading a wave of violence ahead of the ballot.

Pro-Jakarta group leader Eurico Gutteres and Falintil regional commander Falur Rate Laek told the media conference that weapons scattered across the territory were beyond their control.

"There are people other than members of Falintil and the proautonomy group who posses weapons. The people are not under our command, and their weapons are unregistered," Guterres said.

Many people were seen carrying home-made pistols, rifles and sharp weapons in and around this provincial capital on Sunday, despite an overnight agreement between the two parties to intensify segregation and work to lay down weapons.

Falintil and the umbrella Prointegration Forces (PPI) announced in the conference a deal on disarmament arrangements they had reached on Saturday in Baucau, some 150 kilometers east of here.

Under the agreement, both Falintil and PPI would order their members not to display weapons outside each party's designated cantonment area. The Indonesian police would arrest those violating the agreement.

The two factions also agreed to conduct mutual visits to the cantonment areas shortly after Monday's ballot and form a verification committee to oversee cantonment and the laying down of arms.

Guterres said PPI was committed to carrying out the agreement "for the sake of security and the absence of terror", so East Timorese could exercise their right to vote freely.

Falintil's Falur hailed the agreement, saying it would prevent "certain acts beyond the control of both Falintil and PPI".

He admitted that in some ways "taking up arms is a mistake" committed by both the conflicting parties.

"We believe no single Falintil member will feel happy to win the war. The two factions share the blame for the war," he said.

Attending the media briefing were Commission for Peace and Stability (KPS) chief Djoko Sugianto, and head of the Government Task Force for the Popular Consultation in East Timor (P3TT) Agus Tarmizi.

The provincial military commander, Col. Muhammad Noer Muis, echoed suspicions that a third party was behind the series of violence that has tarnished the ballot process.

"We find the two conflicting camps are well organized ... and committed to keeping their weapons in their respective cantonment sites. We have surmised people who posses guns beyond the cantonment are those who provoke supporters of the factions to clash," Muis said.

Muis said the Indonesian Military (TNI) would help the two factions implement the cantonment and laying down of arms.

He denied reports that TNI had placed warships in waters off the province, but said a contingency plan had been drafted to anticipate the worst-case scenario of escalating conflicts here.

East Timor Police chief Col. Timbul Silaen also welcomed the agreement, saying police would maintain impartiality in ensuring security.

More than 451,000 East Timorese were expected to go to 850 polling stations located in 200 polling centers in and outside East Timor on Monday, to decide whether the province would remain part of Indonesia or become an independent state.

UNAMET said last week that the ballot will be started at around 6:30 a.m. local time and will end at 4 p.m local time. Spokesman David Wimhurst has said that all of the ballot boxes and papers, which were transported to the 13 UN regional offices throughout the province last week, would be put in place between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Monday.

UNAMET said that journalists may only enter a polling center to record voting if they are accompanied by staff from the Public Information Office.

UNAMET added that the media would only be allowed to film or photograph the voting in five polling stations in Dili and a number of others in Maliana and Liquica in the western part of the region.

UNAMET also plans to continue the ballot if the polling stations are closed down on Monday for security reasons. Apart from 1,600 independent observers, there will also be 100 official observers from Indonesia and Portugal monitoring the ballot.

Wimhurst said the vote count will be centralized in Dili and the results would be announced one week after the ballot. (33/amd/byg)