Two people arrested for attack on Journalist

DILI, East Timor (JP): Police have arrested two of the eight people suspected of beating up a journalist from Jakarta-based Tiras weekly and Dili Suara Timor Timur on Sunday night.

Chief of Dili police precinct Lt. Col. Beno Kalipong said the authorities hope the arrests would pave the way for a solution to the assault case.

The suspects were arrested after a tip-off from a witness who claimed to recognize three of the attackers. The eyewitness who declined to be named told police he had tried to stop the eight from assaulting the journalist but they wouldn't listen.

Previous reports said Gaudensius Mau, 30, was on his way to a shop when he was beaten unconscious by eight men who mistook him for an intelligence officer.

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

Beno said it was possible the attack was related to the journalist's reports on the controversy over Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo's remarks critical of the government's policy in the territory.

The bishop's comments angered central government officials in Jakarta but received strong support in East Timor.

Beno said the police have established a special team of nine officers to handle investigation into the attack on the journalist.

Gaudensius's condition at Dili General Hospital improved yesterday although he has to spend more days there to recover.

Head of East Timor chapter of the National Commission for Human Rights Alex Refialy said the attack was in blatant violation of human rights.

He demanded law enforcers deal sternly with the incident if they do not want to see it happen again.

In a related development, Tiras's chief editor Marah Sakti Siregar urged police to investigate the incident thoroughly and arrest all suspects, Antara reported.

He said the violence was only the latest in attacks on journalists. This shows that reporters need better legal protection, he said.

The assault occurred after calm had returned to the streets of Dili after last week's rallies by students and youths in support of Bishop Belo. Belo is in trouble for allegedly accusing the government of treating the East Timorese like "scabby dogs" and "slaves". (33/ste)