---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Sydney Morning Herald Saturday, August 7, 1999 Police ignore militia attack By LINDSAY MURDOCH Herald Correspondent in Jakarta, and agencies Indonesian police stood by and watched an attack on a student group in East Timor, independent poll monitors said. The students were attacked by pro-Jakarta militia after they had sought refuge in a church in the town of Same in the western part of the disputed territory. Three foreign observers from the International Federation of East Timor, an umbrella human rights group, saw the violence and helped at least one injured man reach medical care. Under a United Nations- brokered agreement, Indonesian police are responsible for preventing violence and intimidation ahead of the vote on August30 in which East Timorese will be given a choice between autonomy within Indonesia or independence. On the last day of voter registration, tensions have risen dramatically across the territory, raising fears of a bloody campaign period next week. A federation spokesman, Mr Wil Seaman, said the students sought refuge in the church after being attacked by the militia on Thursday when they tried to open a campaign office. The observers in Same reported that the students asked UN officials in the town for protection but were told that under the mandate for the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) they could not help. The agreement states that the UN will only conduct the ballot, and will leave security matters to the Indonesians. The federation, which is accredited by the Indonesian Government to monitor the ballot, is assessing whether it is safe enough to leave its five-member team in Same. UNAMET, meanwhile, has reported two attacks on its staff on Thursday. A civilian policeman attached to UNAMET was slightly injured when about 20 men entered a meeting between UN staff and students in the town of Ainaro in southern East Timor and began overturning chairs and throwing rocks and concrete. "This was a vicious and swift attack that appeared to be well organised," a UNAMET spokesman said. In another incident, a truckload of 60 to 100 armed pro-Jakarta militiamen forced their way into a UN voter registration post in the town of Batugade and attacked two local interpreters, who were not injured. The militiamen then loitered nearby, and the UN staff were evacuated. In New York, the East Timorese independence campaigner Mr Jose Ramos- Horta said he was considering legal action in several countries against Indonesian officers who were trying to undermine the vote by "unleashing a vicious war" by militia against independence supporters. Legal remedies were being sought in the absence of what he called a "Kosovo-style intervention" by the international community. The aim, he said, was to send a signal that some Indonesian officials might "end up with the same fate as Augusto Pinochet". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 6 Aug 1999 jam 17:43:23 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
