---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- =20 The Australian 20aug99=20 Militia's token disarming >From Jakarta correspondent DON GREENLEES in Dili and agencies SEVERAL hundred East Timorese militiamen handed over a motley collection of=20 homemade pistols and rifles at a military-style parade in Dili yesterday in = a=20 symbolic gesture of compliance with agreements to disarm ahead of the August=20 30 ballot.=20 In the late afternoon sun at a football field, men wearing black T-shirts=20 bearing the name of the Aitarak militia laid their weapons on the ground in=20 front of officials from the UN, Indonesian military and a reconciliation=20 commission.=20 But the weapons surrender appeared a token gesture: nearly all of the 230=20 guns were single-shot, made of wood and metal pipe. Indonesian police=20 collected only five M-16s and five bolt-action, 1970s-era Mauser rifles.=20 Dressed in a red-beret and combat fatigues, Aitarak commander Eurico Guterre= s=20 said the handover was the "fulfilment" of the June 18 agreement between=20 pro-Indonesia and pro-independence supporters to disavow violence and disarm= .=20 "It is a sign of our respect and obedience with the agreement," he said. "I=20 hope that we are able to create an atmosphere of peace and responsibility so=20 there can be lasting peace in East Timor."=20 To cheers from the militia ranks, he called on the UN Assistance Mission in=20 East Timor (UNAMET) and Indonesian authorities to ensure the pro-independenc= e=20 Falintil guerillas also laid down their arms.=20 The weapons handed over yesterday were to be placed in a warehouse under the=20 supervision of Indonesian police.=20 UN officials acknowledge the surrendered weapons represent only a tiny=20 proportion of the firepower on both sides in East Timor. But they maintain=20 such ceremonies =96 yesterday's was the fourth =96 can increase the pressure = on=20 police to arrest anyone displaying a weapon in public.=20 "This is an important step towards the reconciliation of the peoples of East=20 Timor," Colonel Neville Reilly, UNAMET's deputy military commander, told=20 yesterday's gathering.=20 Earlier, UNAMET urged Jakarta to remove army officers backing pro-Jakarta=20 militias in the territory ahead of the August 30 independence vote.=20 "We have repeatedly given two different levels of the chain of command the=20 names of certain TNI (military) officers who are clearly not only supportive=20 of, but engaged in, militia activities and we expect to see action taken to=20 remove them," said UN mission chief Ian Martin.=20 The call came as militiamen attacked a church housing refugees and=20 independence supporters in Suai town, 95km south-west of the capital Dili.=20 Mr Martin accused several soldiers of actively supporting the militias, who=20 have killed dozens this year in a bloody campaign to ward off independence.=20 Meanwhile, jailed East Timorese resistance leader Jose Xanana Gusmao warned=20 the Indonesian military of the high price its members could pay if they=20 continued their "dirty game" of aiding the pro-Indonesia militia groups,=20 reminding them there was a limit to the forgiveness of the East Timorese.=20 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 19 Aug 1999 jam 19:02:32 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
