Terror & Death in E.Timor Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source - jclancy@pop.pegasus.com.au Wed May 19 20:34:57 1999 Sydney Morning Herald EAST TIMOR 20 die, houses burn as militia terror continues Up to 20 people were feared killed and houses burnt in separate attacks by pro-Indonesian militias, resulting in the first official complaint by the United Nations office in Dili about the failure of Indonesian authorities to keep the peace in East Timor. "The security situation in East Timor has not improved," a UN spokesman, Mr David Wimhurst, told the Herald. "Our concern is the Indonesian authorities [should] take swift action to curtail these violent attacks from continuing. There is little evidence they have so far. "These attacks are designed to create a climate of fear and terror to undermine the consultation process, which is why we are here." Mr Wimhurst said his small UN office had notified UN headquarters in New York of two militia attacks on Sunday. He said the violence underscored the need for the urgent deployment of a United Nations civilian police team. In the worst incident, 60 militiamen from a group known as Timor Pancasila attacked Atara village without warning on Sunday morning. Mr Wimhurst said the militia attacked the village at dawn, shooting villagers in their homes. There were unconfirmed reports from human rights workers that up to 20 people had been killed. There were also reports of the militia pursuing fleeing villagers. "The militia chased them and continued firing," Mr Wimhurst said. Atara village is in Atsabe district about 100 kilometres south of Dili. Another pro-Indonesian militia group known as Aitarak (Thorn) rampaged through Matio village on the outskirts of Dili on Sunday night, burning 10 houses owned by suspected independence supporters. Shots were fired but there were no reports of any injuries, Mr Wimhurst said. He said UN officers were due to meet Indonesian authorities in Dili yesterday to demand an immediate investigation into the attacks, and details of follow-up action by local police and the military to prevent further violence. In a statement released yesterday, the UN said: "The United Nations urgently reminds the Indonesian Government that it agreed on May 5 to establish a secure environment devoid of violence or other forms of intimidation so that a free and fair ballot can be held in East Timor on August 8. "Determined action must be taken by the appropriate Indonesian security authorities to curtail the activities of the armed militias whose members roam the streets of Dili and other towns in East Timor at will, shooting citizens and burning homes." The militia violence comes just 12 days after the signing of the agreement, and less than 24 hours after the end of a meeting in Bali hosted by the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr Ali Alatas, at which the pro-Indonesian militias expressed support for the consultation agreement. This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. [SMH Home] [Text-only index] *************** INDONESIA Habibie targeted for Soeharto links Key opposition leaders plan to use revelations about wealth amassed by the family of deposed Indonesian president Soeharto to discredit his successor, President B.J. Habibie, at the June national elections. Leaders of the three main opposition parties are considering launching a united campaign against Dr Habibie, the ruling Golkar party's sole presidential candidate, highlighting his links to the Soeharto regime. The alliance would include Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of Indonesia's first president, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of the 30-million-strong Islamic group Nahdlatul Ulama, and Dr Amien Rais, the former chairman of the 28-million-strong Muslim charitable group Muhammadiyah and one of the few Indonesians who dared criticise Mr Soeharto when he was in power. On the eve of official campaigning for the country's first free election since 1955, Time magazine reported yesterday that Mr Soeharto and his six children amassed a $US15 billion ($22.7 billion) fortune during his 32 years in power. It said the family transferred $US9 billion in cash from a bank in Switzerland to one in Austria shortly after Mr Soeharto was forced from office amid rioting and bloodshed last May. After almost 12 months, Indonesia's Attorney-General says he still has insufficient evidence to bring the 77-year-old former president before the courts. Dr Rais has called on Dr Habibie to provide evidence that the investigation into the family's fortune was not a whitewash. Yesterday he accused Dr Habibie of being a "shadow" of Mr Soeharto. *** EAST TIMOR 32 shot dead in massacre of villagers MARK DODD, Herald Correspondent in Dili A pro-Indonesian paramilitary group accompanied by Indonesian soldiers and intelligence agents shot and killed at least 32 unarmed civilians in a massacre at Atara village in the East Timor highlands, a human rights group said on Tuesday. "Information we received this morning indicates 12 corpses identified. These are people killed in the village - shot dead," said a senior official from the Dili-based Foundation for Legal and Human Rights (Yayasan-Hak). "There are more than 20 other people killed in a coffee plantation, but nobody has the courage to go in there because the militia is still waiting." The official, who asked not to be named, said the attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning and lasted about 4 1/2 hours. Atara village is about 100 kilometres south of Dili. The official quoted coffee farmers and local people who had fled Atara to Dili as saying the attackers comprised members of the Tim Pancasila militia, supported by Indonesian soldiers and intelligence operatives known by the local acronym SGI. All the victims had been shot by military-style assault rifles. The official showed a list of 12 named victims killed in Atara - all men aged between 25 and 40 years. Those shot dead in the nearby coffee plantation as they tried to flee the attack included women. Three of those shot dead at Atara had been previous targets of militia threats over their support for the pro-independence movement. They included one Christian religious affairs teacher. If confirmed, the massacre would rank as one of the worst committed by pro-Indonesian militias since last month, when paramilitary thugs backed by a local territorial army unit shot and killed up to 57 people in western Liquica. Local people say the true toll at Liquica may never be known because the bodies were removed for secret burial by army lorries. One possible motive behind the Atara killings was the switch in support of local King Guilherme Maria Goncalves who lives in Portugal. The former traditional Atsabe monarch dropped his support for the pro-integration movement in the mid-1990s. "When the king resigned his supporters followed and that's why they were targeted," said the human rights official. On Monday, the spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), Mr David Wimhurst, blamed armed militias and their supporters for trying to use violence to prevent the UN- organised ballot scheduled to take place on August 8. He said he had received independent confirmation of the Atara attack and claimed at least five people had been killed in their homes as they were preparing to leave for Mass. In other reports of militia violence, villagers living near the coastal town of Batugade near the West Timor frontier have stopped eating large fish after human remains and jewellery were found in their catch last week, diplomats and human rights officials reported on Tuesday. Mr Wimhurst said the UN specifically wanted Indonesian authorities to investigate those responsible for the Atara attack and bring the perpetrators to justice. East Timor military commander, Colonel Tono Suratman, acknowledged the attack in Atara and said he was seeking further information, Mr Wimhurst said yesterday. Colonel Suratman also told the UN spokesman he would act to clear the area of militia road-blocks, but gave no timetable. Meanwhile, American doctor Dan Murphy, whose Catholic clinic served as a casualty centre for recent victims of militia violence, returned to Dili on Tuesday to resume work after being ordered out of the country last weekend. Dr Murphy was given a special "cultural" visa in Singapore and returned to Dili on a scheduled flight yesterday. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytpac-05.22.99-02:31:30-22889