---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- ANTARA, September 27, 1999 Neutrally : EAST TIMORESE DEMAND INTERFET NOT TO TAKE SIDES Atambua, Sept 26 <ANTARA> - Pro-integration war chief Joao Tavares said that displaced East Timorese only wished that the International Force in East Timor (Interfet) act neutrally in its peacekeeping operations in the former Portuguese territory. "Many reports from people arriving in Atambua said the attitude of Interfet toward the pro-integration members is not much different from that of Unamet," he said to newsmen here on Sunday. If Interfet fails to immediately correct its attitude toward prointegration East Timorese, it would only worsen the differences and conflicts within the East Timorese people themselves. The dispatch of Interfet to East Timor merely aimed at creating peace. But what has heppened in the field is that they, especialy Australians, let pro-independence groups take revenge by killing the members of the pro-integration group still remaining in East Timor. The members of the pro-integration group who could not be evacuated to refugee camps in Atambua and Kupang have become targets of revenge of the pro-independence group. Without any attempt of the Interfet in preventing the revenge, supporters of the the pro-independence group can freely torture and kill suspected militiamen. Such an attitude of the Australian troops in part of the evidence on Interfet's biased stance toward pro-independence East Timorese, It also leaves an impression that Interfet has only one objective, namely to disarm pro-integration militiamen, while members of the pro-independence group are not disarmed and they used their arms to kill pro-integration militiamen. More dangerous is that, according to Tavares, Interfet is also implicated in committing the torture of arrested pro-integration militiamen. Without any apparent reason, Interfet captured and interrogated members of the pro integration group after receiving information from the pro-independence group. Interfet's attitude against members of pro-integration group is certainly counter-productive to the implementation of human rights. The pro-integration movement never has a grudge and hard feelings against Interfet because their arch enemy is the Fretilin which has different political views. Therefore, Interfet should not trigger hostility of pro- integration fighters. If Interfet continues taking sides with the Fretilin-supported pro-independence group, it will only be at the expense of the Interfet, he said. <F.DLI-01/PTU-14/RSI-03/22:3/INT-NG/23:28/ri2/23:45/TB06> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 30 Sep 1999 jam 09:15:35 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
