TIMOR TODAY 24/09/99

Friday, 24 September 1999, 1:32 pm
Article: Alastair Thompson

For full text and photos see... http://www.easttimor.com/.

PHOTOS

a) Jakarta demonstrators hurl rocks at police during a demonstration
outside the Indonesian Parliament. More than 10 000 people joined in an
anti-military demonstration. (AP Photo/Firdia Linsawati)

b) Mercy Ship Project

NEWS

1) 10,000 join bloody protests at Indonesian parliament
24/09/99 (Sydney Morning Herald) A crowd of up to 10,000 gathered
outside the national Parliament and police fired rubber bullets as
students set up barricades and lit fires. Several cars caught in massive
traffic jams were were set alight by rampaging protesters.

2) Indonesian troops chased as they rampage through Dili
24/09/99 (Sydney Morning Herald) In the most serious incident, three
truckloads of Indonesian soldiers were chased first by British Army
Gurkhas, and then by Australian troops after they drove through the
street firing three bursts of automatic gunfire.

3) Bodies dumped from passenger liner: witnesses
24/09/99 (Sydney Morning Herald) Suspected supporters of East TimorÆs
independence were executed on ships taking refugees from the territory and
their bodies dumped in the sea, according to witness accounts collected by
an Australian election observer who has just returned from Kupang, West
Timor.

4) Grisly evidence of militia rampage draws calls for rights tribunal
24/09/99 (AFP) The naked body of a headless woman was the first found
floating in the well and residents said they feared there may be many more
corpses. "There are more than 20. Before the water used to be low, about 10
metres (30 feet) lower. Now it is almost at the top," said neighbour Marian
Soares.

5) Murdered Dutch Journalist Exposed Scandal Involving GeneralÆs
Brother
24/09/99 (Bloomberg News, Reuters, AFP) JAKARTAùJournalist Sander
Thoenes, found dead in East Timor yesterday, recently exposed a
US$250-million (S$425-million) scandal at a company controlled by the
brother of Lt-General Prabowo Subianto, the former commander of
IndonesiaÆs elite special forces or Kopassus.

6) UN patrol finds devastation in East TimorÆs towns
24/09/99 (UN) The situation in Dili is tense following an incident in
which two vehicles fired shots near a patrol of the International Force in
East Timor, who were in vehicles of the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET).
No one was hurt in the incident, and no UN staff were involved.

7) UN rights chief calls for intl probe into East Timor massacres
24/09/99 (AFP) GENEVA - UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson
called Thursday for an international inquiry into the massacre of
thousands of civilians in East Timor, saying Indonesian security forces were
involved in the rampage.

8) Xanana: We will help Indonesians because theyÆre our brothers
24/09/99 (ETISC) DARWIN - "This ship will link the East Timorese people and
Indonesian people of the close island to East Timor in the eastern part of
Indonesia. We will help them too. We have got a medical ship to assist our
people. In the future that ship too help the Indonesian people in the
eastern part of Indonesia because we are brothers."

9) Mercy Ship Project answers the call of East Timorese
24/09/99 (Timor Aid, Sydney Morning Herald) DARWIN - A barge loaded with 300
tonnes of relief supplies will set off from Darwin to East Timor tomorrow.
Also, Hong Kong philanthropist and financier, Mr Eric Hotung, has bought a
Sydney vessel that will be refitted as a hospital ship and sent to East
Timor, operated by Timor Aid.

10) SuhartoÆs son sells New Zealand resort for US$0.52
24/09/99 (AFP) CHRISTCHURCH - A son of former Indonesian president
Suharto has sold a luxury Southern Alps retreat to a Singaporean
partner, L.Y.A. Poh, for one NZ dollar (52 US cents), the Christchurch Press
reported Friday.

OPINION

11) A reflection on the militaryÆs culture of violence
24/09/99 (Jakarta Post) MEDAN - Despite some of the phenomenal changes that
have taken place within the current administration, the Habibie-led
Indonesia is currently witnessing numerous scenes and acts of violence
occurring in different parts of the country. The most recent incidents of
violence would include the Acehnese and the East Timorese rebellions against
the Indonesian Armed Forces.

12) Lessons on the public memory for Habibie
24/09/99 (The Jakarta Post) JAKARTA: While the political costs of the
Bank Bali scandal and the East Timor fiasco continue to build, it is
clear that President B.J. HabibieÆs government has ceased to function as a
proactive force, being forced completely into the defensive.

HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

13) IFET: Testimony to UN Human Rights Commission
24/09/99 (IFET) "From the very beginning, we underlined the pervasive
fear held by most East Timorese people of a military and militia-
instigated bloodbath if the vote were to go for independence."

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Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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