http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20070326161112&irec=18
Nobel prize winner testifies about 1999 violence in East Timor JAKARTA (AP): Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, whose resistance to Indonesian rule in East Timor won him a Nobel prize, described Monday how Jakarta-backed militias burned down churches and killed priests after his tiny nation's independence vote. He told the Commission on Truth and Friendship, established by both countries to hear testimony about the 1999 violence, that while he preferred to look to the future it was important not to forget the past. "It's important to acknowledge that, as human beings and as citizens, we failed to maintain human rights, tolerance and solidarity," Belo told the panel. "It doesn't mean that we want to open old wounds and stir up hatred," he said. East Timor or Timor Leste voted overwhelmingly to end nearly a quarter century of Indonesian rule in a public referendum eight years ago that triggered a burst of killing, looting and burning by Indonesian soldiers and their military proxies. Only one person has been punished for the violence that left more than 1,000 dead, and political leaders in both nations appear reluctant to press for more trials. The United Nations has said it would consider setting up an international tribunal if justice was not done. Belo spoke calmly and with little emotion and he described how Indonesian troops and their militia proxies killed priests, attacked churches and destroyed religious documents. On Sept. 6, 1999, they threw petrol bombs at his own home, where refugeeswere seeking shelter, he said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
