UN envoy briefed on rights in E. Timor
UN envoy briefed on rights in E. Timor
DILI, East Timor (JP): East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares yesterday explained the human rights situation in the province to visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Jose Ayala Lasso.
Abilio told the UN envoy that the presence of troops in the province has been, and still is, motivated by a need to keep conflicting East Timorese groups apart, his spokesman Exspedito Diaz Ximenes told reporters after the meeting.
He referred to the civil war that broke out in 1975 after the departure of the Portuguese colonial administration.
Abilio said the government of Indonesia is committed to upholding human rights in the province.
The meeting at the governor's office was also attended by the East Timor military chief Col. Mahidin Simbolon and the East Timor Police Chief Col. Andreas Sugianto.
Exspedito said Ayala Lasso raised questions about the fate of dozens of people reported missing since the November 1991 incident and about the recent wave of people from East Timor seeking asylum.
The 1991 incident was a clash between troops and East Timorese protesters in the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili. The government said around 50 people were killed and dozens went missing. The incident sparked an international outcry and accusations of blatant human rights violations.
Mahidin said the soldiers responsible for the incident had been tried and convicted by the military tribunal.
The governor explained that the government is still looking for those reported missing after the November 1991 incident. The East Timor administration, he added, has also proposed that Jakarta provide compensation for the victims of the incident.
On the asylum seekers, Abilio said the government would not stop the youths from leaving, but underlined that none of them were being prosecuted or wanted for any crime.
Ayala Lasso also visited the Santa Cruz cemetery and met with the speaker of the East Timor legislative council Antonio Freitas Parada, and the local representatives of the International Committee for the Red Cross.
Today, he is scheduled to meet with Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and other non-government figures before returning to Jakarta. The UN envoy began his visit on Sunday with talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas. (yac/emb)