-Caveat Lector-

----Original Message Follows----
From: "Robert Kemp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Fwd: UN finds proof of joint operations with militia
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 09:21:04 EDT




----Original Message Follows----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Rich Winkel)
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: UN finds proof of joint operations with militia
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1999 20:42:48 -0500 (CDT)

/** reg.easttimor: 2809.0 **/
** Topic: UN finds proof of joint operations with militia **
** Written 11:08 PM  Sep  6, 1999 by [EMAIL PROTECTED] in cdp:reg.easttimor **
Subject: UN finds proof of joint operations with militia

Excerpt: The real nature of the links between the armed forces and police
and
the militia remains a delicate area for public discussion in Jakarta. It has
been ignored in recent days in the Indonesian press, though the violence has
been covered fully and correctly attributed to the pro-integrationatist
militias

Foreign witness accounts that the army and police have stood by and watched
the violence have not been reported. "This is a very delicate issue," says
one observer, "because it is related to patriotism and national pride."

The Guardian [UK]
Tuesday September 7, 1999

Revealed: how army directed violence

Secret report: UN finds proof of joint operations with militia

John Gittings in Jakarta

Direct evidence of complicity by the Indonesian military in the East Timor
killings has been compiled by the United Nations, according to leaked
internal documents.

The documents prepared by the UN mission to East Timor (Unamet) say that
there have been "joint operations" between army, police and militia,
including burning of houses and attacks on civilians. The revelations -
published in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald - came as the armed forces
chief, General Wiranto, said Indonesia may put the territory under military
rule.

The documents conclude that there has been "a deliberate strategy to force
Unamet to withdraw from certain regions back to Dili".

They accuse the military of instigating the weekend shooting of an American
UN police officer in Liquisa by the militias. The UN says that in another
incident militia were ordered by a group of Indonesian officers to shoot at
trucks carrying UN staff and journalists.

Local police and their families are said to have been threatened themselves
by the army if they sought to prevent the violence.

General Wiranto's hint of martial law adds to speculation in Jakarta about
the real motives of the Indonesian army. Observers differ as to whether it
is
a last-ditch protest against "losing East Timor", or could mean a serious
effort to frustrate the territory's independence.

"In the short term", General Wiranto said yesterday, "we will bring in
(more)
forces. Certainly we are going to evaluate the status of this area, whether
it will continue to be under civilian orders or whether there is going to be
a change."

He claimed that violence was not allowed in East Timor: "We will not
tolerate
any brutal acts, whatever the reason." He also continued to urge all
Indonesians to accept the result.

Deeply upset

But Indonesian analysts say that senior army officers are deeply upset by
the
loss of East Timor, and that what is now happening was to a large extent
predictable.

"Everyone knows that the militia received a lot of support long before the
ballot," says a military affairs academic. "The armed forces are not happy:
by letting what is happen go unimpeded, they send a very strong message.

"This could be a conscious act to let the violence turn into chaos. When the
situation is completely chaotic the military may push for martial law. They
can then use this as a pretext and try to postpone ratification of the
vote."

Another specialist says a "psychological affinity" between the army and the
militia grew up when fighting the pro-independence guerrillas in East Timor.

Salim Said of the University of Indonesia says: "I have talked to generals
who say 'we have sacrificed too much. Some of our subordinates became
casualties; we built churches, streets and universities'."

But Salim, who also lectures at an army staff college, does not believe the
army will in the end frustrate independence.

"This is an irrational situation," he says. "The army's position is very low
in society because it was a tool of the Suharto government."

There is widespread agreement that the chaos in East Timor is being used by
factions in the ruling elite to weaken B J Habibie ahead of November when a
new president will be chosen.

Many Indonesians take exception to international pressure for a quick
solution to which Habibie yielded when he announced that East Timor would
gain independence if it rejected autonomy within the Republic of Indonesia.

A slower process, it is argued, would have avoided giving political
ammunition to the military and allowed time to reconcile the factions.

Yesterday's English-language Jakarta Post published a long summary of
criticisms with the headline "Habibie under fire". Political figures across
the country were said to be demanding that he is "held accountable for the
likely separation of Indonesia's 27th province."

The real nature of the links between the armed forces and police and the
militia remains a delicate area for public discussion in Jakarta. It has
been
ignored in recent days in the Indonesian press, though the violence has been
covered fully and correctly attributed to the pro-integrationatist militias

Foreign witness accounts that the army and police have stood by and watched
the violence have not been reported. "This is a very delicate issue," says
one observer, "because it is related to patriotism and national pride."

The UN documents are specific in accusing the armed forces of fomenting
violence. They cite specific examples in towns outside Dili, including a
threat to burn down a UN compound by a militia leader who said he was acting
on instructions from an Indonesian major.

In Liquisa, Indonesian police and military personnel were not only assisting
the militias in an attack but also shooting at UN vehicles, according to the
report.

** End of text from cdp:reg.easttimor **

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