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)