---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Aug. 19, 5:37 a.m. ET East Timor pro-Jakarta militia lays down weapons DILI, East Timor, Aug 19 (Reuters) - East Timor's feared pro-Jakarta Aitarak militia laid down their weapons on Thursday, easing the threat of violence ahead of the August 30 ballot on independence. Some 600 members of Aitarak (Thorn), a militia militantly opposed to independence for East Timor, gathered at a soccer field in Dili to lay down their weapons. ``Disarmament is important to all East Timorese,'' militia leader Eurico Guterres said at the ceremony. All but 10 of the 150 guns and pistols laid down were made from carved wooden stocks and galvanised iron tubing. They are fired by touching a cigarette to a touch hole on the top of the barrel. There have been a number of such ceremonies among the militias opposed to independence. Pro-independence groups aligned with the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT) have gathered their fighters in camps in the hills where they are monitored by the United Nations. The Aitarak members, in black t-shirts with the Indonesian flag on the front, put on a military parade for the ceremony. A member of the militia had earlier said the group would hand over their weapons to police on Friday. Guterres said that he hoped that the CNRT would also lay down its weapons. ``I also hope that the CNRT will do the same thing so there will be no more disturbances related to the popular consultation (referendum),'' he said. A U.N. official said the move should mean that there were less guns on the streets of Dili. ``This is a step forward in that in principal there will be no more armed militia outside the designated areas, in this case Aitarak headquarters,'' said Colin Stewart. The guns will be stored under lock and key in the Aitarak headquarters in central Dili under U.N.observation. Aitarak has been blamed for a number of deaths in Dili since the beginning of the year, including the killing of at least 13 people in the house of a pro-independence leader in April. Pro-Jakarta groups have been blamed for most of the violence in which dozens of people have died and tens of thousands more have been displaced since January. There has been an increase in tension over the past few days, with militias in other parts of East Timor killing at least two independence supporters and destroying pro-independence campaign offices. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 19 Aug 1999 jam 13:57:00 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
