Crisis in East Timor - Update and Alert (fwd)

Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia:
 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 15:04:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Asia Pacific Center for Justice and Peace <apcjp@igc.apc.org>
To: miriam@apcjp.org
Subject: Crisis in East Timor - Update and Alert

CRISIS IN EAST TIMOR -------------Please see our website also: www.apcjp.org

The situation in East Timor has been deteriorating in recent months at the
same time that diplomatic efforts at the United Nations and elsewhere have
begun to bear fruit.  While President Habibie makes announcements in Jakarta
about offering independence to East Timor if the people reject a United
Nations-brokered offer of autonomy, the Indonesian military known as ABRI
has been actively contributing to chaos and violence on the ground in East
Timor.  These actions seriously jeopardize all sincere attempts to bring
about a peaceful settlement to the nearly twenty-five year long conflict.

During recent months armed paramilitary groups have sprung up and spread
throughout the territory, claiming to support integration with Indonesia and
rejecting independence.  Despite denials by ABRI, it is beyond doubt that
these militias have been armed and assisted, if not orchestrated by, the
military.  Over the past two weeks, the militias have been carrying out a
reign of terror against the civilian population and threatening
pro-independence supporters with death.  

This past weekend, the militias staged a show of force in the capital Dili,
and then went on a rampage around the city.  The house of Manual
Carrascalao, a prominent pro-independence leader and head of the Movement
for the Reconciliation and Unity of the People of East Timor, was attacked
and burned.  An unknown number of civilians (the most recent report is 18)
among over a hundred who were taking refuge in the house from earlier
violence were killed, among them Mr. Carrascalos's 17-year old son.  Mr.
Carrascalao had gone earlier in the day to the military commander of East
Timor asking for protection but the commander did nothing.  The militias
have also dropped leaflets all over the city warning of a clean-up operation
of pro-independence supporters and targeting its leaders.  The few
journalists present have been threatened and al least one was beaten up.

Eyewitnesses have reported seeing the militias working together with the
military and police, contradicting claims that the militias are acting on
their own.  It is the belief of some observers that ABRI is taking full
advantage of the world's preoccupation with Kosovo to sow chaos and terror
in East Timor and to wipe out the leadership of the pro-independence
movement under cover of the militias, without fear of retribution.

THESE ACTIONS MUST BE STRONGLY AND PUBLICLY CONDEMNED!!

                    
PLEASE SEND FAXES OR LETTERS TO:

Madeleine Albright
Secretary of State
U.S. State Department
Washington, DC 
Fax: 202-647-7120 

His Excellency Kofi Annan
Secretary General to the United Nations
United Nations Headquarters 
New York, NY 10017
 Fax: 212-963-4879

William F. Cohen
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense, The Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000
Fax:  703-697-9080


Key points to put in your letter:
1)- Pressure must be brought to bear on the Indonesian military to ensure
that killings in East Timor by paramilitaries and military are stopped.  The
paramilitaries must be disarmed immediately.

2)- An international monitoring presence must be established in East Timor
as a matter of urgency.

3)- The military commander in Dili must be held responsible for the violence
and killings that took place in the capital the past few days. 



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