---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- The Guardian Thursday August 19, 1999 East Timorese threaten Jakarta with cyber chaos John Aglionby in Jakarta The exiled East Timorese independence activist Jose Ramos Horta warned the Indonesian authorities yesterday that he would respond with a "new and more costly round of war" if this month's referendum on the territory's future was marred by corruption and political manipulation. Writing in the Thai newspaper the Nation, he said that Indonesian intimidation and violence had become so widespread in the territory that the UN-organised ballot "could turn into the biggest electoral fraud of modern times". The East Timorese vote in 11 days' time for autonomy under Indonesian sovereignty or independence. Campaigning formally began five days ago. Mr Horta accused the government in Jakarta, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975, of being "willing to go to any extreme to increase [its] stranglehold on East Timor, even giving [its] own false interpretations to international agreements." This was demonstrated by its decision to let all pro-Jakarta leaders campaign freely in East Timor while most of those seeking independence, "including myself", were not allowed to return to their own country. If Jakarta did not stop trying to sabotage the ballot, Mr Horta said, he would unleash a worldwide campaign to boycott the Indonesian tourist island of Bali. East Timorese groups had set aside several million dollars for a sustained public-relations war against the Indonesian tourism industry, he said. "More than 100 computer wizards" were preparing to create chaos in the entire computer network of the Indonesian government and military and the country's banking and financial institutions with a dozen specially designed viruses. UN officials and western diplomats in Jakarta accept that the situation in East Timor is far from ideal, but they dismissed Mr Horta's article as "barmy" and "out of touch". One styled it a petty bid for the limelight. Most analysts predict that in a free and fair vote the independence lobby would win a clear victory. But a report published last week by former US president Jimmy Carter said that the Indonesian army was actively supporting and directing militias that favour integration with Indonesia. Amnesty International released a similarly pessimistic report yesterday, saying: "The consistent failure of the Indonesian authorities to guarantee safety and security for all East Timorese . . . poses a dangerous precedent for the future of the troubled territory." It added: "The pro-integration militias are continuing to commit the majority of human rights violations, acting with almost total impunity and with the support of the Indonesian national army and the police." Mr Horta claimed that Jakarta was sending hundreds of special forces troops to East Timor disguised as police officers. Combined with the militias, they were turning East Timor into "one of the most militarised territories in the world". "This makes for an extremely dangerous situation," he wrote. Daily acts of violence continue in the territory. Yesterday militiamen damaged the district office of the independence movement in the town of Maliana, and other minor incidents were reported. Basilio Araujo, an active supporter of Jakarta, said he could not understand what had led Mr Horta to make such statements. "He is a person who has not been in East Timor in 23 years and has not seen the situation on the ground." Mr Horta left East Timor in December 1975 and has lived in self-imposed exile ever since. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 19 Aug 1999 jam 06:29:29 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
