Vegas shot dead within E. Timor's territory: Police

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Edward Aritonang said on Wednesday former militiaman Vegas Bibilitu was shot dead by East Timor police within the neighboring country's territory.

"After an investigated at the scene, the shooting incident took place not within a neutral zone but inside Timor Leste's territory," he said, referring to Indonesia's former province East Timor.

Former pro-Jakarta militia leaders and other pro-integration East Timorese, currently living in East Nusa Tenggara, have condemned Friday's killing of Vegas at Turiskain village, Raihat subdistrict, Belu regency.

"As fellow East Timorese citizens, the shooting incident was extremely savage because it took place within a neutral zone," Florencio Mario Viera, spokesman for the Association of Pro- Indonesia East Timorese People (Untas), claimed on Tuesday.

"Pro-integration East Timorese feel shocked over the loss of one of the former pro-integration strugglers," he added.

Aritonang said NTT Police would not intervene in the investigation into the incident, despite the fact the deceased was a former East Timorese militiaman who became an Indonesian citizen.

"We ask the Timor Leste police to look into the case because it took place within their territory," he told journalists in Kupang, the capital city of East Nusa Tenggara.

Kupang Wirasakti military chief Col. Moeswarno Moesanif said on Monday that Vegas was shot near the Balibaca River, which falls within the Tactical Coordination Zone.

A preliminary investigation showed that Vegas was shot in the chest while trying to sneak into East Timor across the river, carrying arrows, he added.

Aritonang said Vegas was killed because he had fired arrows at East Timorese police officers on patrol.

"The victim was warned from entering East Timor's territory up to 100 meters away from the border, but he responded by firing arrows at the East Timor police officers," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

But Aritonang did not say whether the shooting was justifiable or not.

He said Vegas' body had been brought to the East Timor capital Dili for an autopsy before it was handed over to his family in Turiskain on Monday.

Moesanif accused Vegas of being involved in several cases of smuggling basic commodities into East Timor.

On Wednesday, Moesanif said Vegas protected illegal transactions on the border area.

"We ask the Timor Leste government to soon put in order all black markets in the border area between the two countries to minimize border conflicts," he said.

Belu authorities temporarily closed Turiskain traditional market, some two kilometers from the scene, to prevent possible revenge attacks by former pro-integration East Timorese.

Vegas was a cofounder of the Halilintar militia group based in Bobonaro regency when East Timor was still part of Indonesia until it voted for independence in 1999.

He was also known to have once served as a member of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in East Timor.