---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- also: Liaison officer accused of bias Sydney Morning Herald Thursday, August 26, 1999 Poll not fair, says Jakarta By LINDSAY MURDOCH, Herald Correspondent in Dili Indonesia's top officials in East Timor are positioning themselves to reject the outcome of Monday's ballot on the territory's future, claiming the way the United Nations intends to count the votes is flawed. Mr Francisco Lopes da Cruz, Jakarta's ambassador at-large, told the Herald the UN's plans to centralise vote-counting in the capital, Dili, were neither democratic nor transparent. "There is definitely a possibility to reject the ballot," said Mr da Cruz, who has campaigned against East Timor separating from Indonesia. As UN officials, diplomats and independent analysts predict a win for independence supporters, Mr da Cruz stepped up pressure on the UN to agree to count the votes at 200 polling centres across the territory. "If you try to bring the ballot boxes to Dili, by road or helicopter, anything could happen to them on the way," he said. "It is not fair. If they are counted at the polling booth there will be many people there who will be able to see what is happening." Mr da Cruz is the second senior Indonesian official to criticise the UN's counting system. After Mr Dino Patti Djalal, the spokesman for Indonesia's task force in Dili, last week demanded the UN provide a breakdown of how various districts vote, the UN's spokesman, Mr David Wimhurst, said: "There will be no change." UN civilian police are to escort the votes to Dili. The priority would be to ensure voters could be satisfied that reprisals would not follow as a result of how they voted. "There will be no compromise on this point," a UN official said. But Mr da Cruz questioned that priority, asking what was more important, the security of the vote or possible reprisals. "The Indonesian police are responsible for protecting people from reprisals," he said. Independence leaders are worried that the integration lobby in Indonesia's highest body, the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly, will use the argument to avoid ratifying the ballot. Controversy over the vote-counting comes amid renewed criticism of Indonesia over its refusal or inability to stop intimidation of voters ahead of the vote, in which 450,000 East Timorese will choose between autonomy or independence. In New York, the UN Security Council issued a statement voicing strong concern at the "continuing campaign of intimidation and violence in East Timor" and deploring "recent acts of violence and intimidation against UN staff". The biggest group of independent observers in East Timor yesterday joined calls for international troops, preferably armed, to be sent to the territory to maintain security after the ballot. In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, the International Federation for East Timor - Observer Project called for troops to be in place before the announcement of the ballot result, expected late next week. Meanwhile, UN complaints about a senior Indonesian Army officer in the western town of Maliana had resulted in his transfer, the UN confirmed yesterday. Officials said he had been a key backer of pro-Jakarta militia thought to be planning to turn the town into a virtual war zone tomorrow, the final campaign day ahead of the ballot. -------------- Sydney Morning Herald Thursday, August 26, 1999 Liaison officer accused of bias By JO JOLLY in Maliana, East Timor An Australian military liaison officer was evacuated from his post in East Timor last week after death threats from autonomy supporters, sources in the western town of Maliana said yesterday. The officer, who according to Jakarta supporters was biased towards independence, received the death threats after militias rampaged through Maliana on August 18, firing shots outside the United Nations compound. The death threats were confirmed yesterday by the pro- autonomy bupati (mayor) of Bobonaro, Guilherme dos Santos, who said the UN Assistance Mission on East Timor (UNAMET) was asked to remove the officer for his own safety. The officer, a fluent Indonesian speaker, was accused of ordering the lowering of Indonesian flags on the road from Cailalo to Maliana. He was also accused of supporting a Falintil attack against autonomy supporters in the village of Ritabou and shipping weapons in a UN vehicle to pro-independence groups. But sources close to UNAMET said the allegations were groundless. On the day he was accused of ordering the lowering of flags, the officer was in a different location, they said. The accusations and threats were part of an organised campaign to remove him from his post, the sources said. "He was a threat because he was able to speak to locals and receive information which identified who was doing what," they said. During the August 18 attack, the officer was told he would be killed if he left the UN compound. After receiving another death threat, reported to UNAMET by a local government official, he left for Dili. Meanwhile, the situation in Maliana remains tense. The independence office in the town has information that the militias will attack again tomorrow in an attempt to destabilise Monday's ballot. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 25 Aug 1999 jam 21:11:20 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
