---------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------- Washington Post Thursday, August 12, 1999 Carter Assails Indonesia Over East Timor Security By Keith B. Richburg Washington Post Foreign Service JAKARTA, Indonesia, Aug. 11=97Former president Jimmy Carter condemned=20 Indonesian military and government officials today for "supporting, directin= g=20 and arming" East Timorese militias responsible for attacks aimed at=20 disrupting an independence vote for the territory later this month. In a statement released in the East Timorese capital, Dili, by the=20 Atlanta-based Carter Center, which is observing preparations for the Aug. 30=20 vote, the former president said, "Some top representatives of the government=20 of Indonesia have failed to fulfill their main obligations with respect to=20 public order and security." He said observers in East Timor have amassed evidence that "Indonesian=20 military and other government agencies are supporting, directing and arming=20 pro-integration militias to create a climate of fear and violence." He also=20 said Indonesian police, the main security force in East Timor, "in some case= s=20 have colluded with pro-integration militias." Carter is the latest foreign observer, and among the most prominent, to=20 criticize the government's handling of security before the East Timor vote.=20 Western diplomats who regularly visit East Timor, as well as human rights=20 groups and independence supporters, have accused the Indonesian military and=20 intelligence services of tacitly backing, if not directing, the two dozen or=20 so militias responsible for a wave of massacres, assassinations and village=20 burnings. Despite the criticism, the top U.N. officials involved in East Timor=20 predicted the referendum will be held on schedule. "There will be no delay o= f=20 the ballot, I am convinced of that," said Jamsheed Marker, the special U.N.=20 representative for East Timor. Even if East Timor votes for independence, the decision must be ratified by=20 Indonesia's parliament, which is not necessarily a formality. After last=20 June's elections--the most democratic here in four decades--the largest part= y=20 in the new parliament will be Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic=20 Party of Struggle. Many of its officials, including Megawati, are known to=20 oppose independence for East Timor, and they are angry that President B.J.=20 Habibie pushed through the referendum plan without consulting opposition=20 parties or parliament.=20 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 12 Aug 1999 jam 07:46:21 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
