DATE=9/2/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=Q & A: EAST TIMOR VIOLENCE
NUMBER=2-253355
BYLINE=LISA WEAVER
DATELINE=INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
// Re-running w/correct report
designation. No copy changes //
TEXT: Q. So what is the situation at the moment?
LW: The situation on the ground here is fairly calm in
the wake of Wednesday's violence. There are a lot of
military trucks moving around. Militia members are in
evidence on the street. At the same time, hotel
lobbies are filled with packed suitcases. There is a
ferry that left the lake early this morning, at one
AM, reportedly filled with people fleeing with their
possessions.
There are lots of rumors swirling around, they are
mostly difficult to confirm, including rumors that
militia members are coming in from areas outside the
capital. Now, participating in yesterday's violence
were militia members not affiliated with the groups
here in the capital.
It is hard to tell if they were here for a pre-
organized attack or if they just happened to be here
when violence between pro-independence supporters and
anti-independence supporters broke out.
The situation today, however, is much calmer.
Everyone seems to be very stressed out -- including
members of the United Nations mission in East Timor.
The spokesman today reiterated that more than four
hundred civilian people will soon be in place, as well
as more military liaison officers. At this point, amid
increasing calls from the international community for
peacekeeping forces, that is the only commitment that
the United Nations is prepared to make to ensure the
security of their staff.
Q: So there are more security forces coming in? Have
these been requested by the U-N?
A: This has actually been in the works for awhile.
This is not particularly new. It comes in the context
of worries of what would happen during this particular
period of time. Specifically, after the results of
the ballot are announced and before the Indonesian
parliament gives the final go-ahead -- as yes or no on
whether or not it will consider granting independence
to East Timor, if the result of the ballot is a
rejection of autonomy, under the Indonesian umbrella.
Q: Is the Indonesian government bringing in more help?
And how are you able to tell the difference between
militiamen who want to help you or militiamen who are
pro-Indonesian and are apparently causing some
trouble?
LW: There are conflicting reports on how many and from
what security divisions the Indonesian government
wants to bring more personnel in. I have heard some
three hundred Indonesian police are due to arrive. I
have heard three hundred regular army troops are due
to arrive. For the last several days an Indonesian
warship has been visible off the coast. It is not
clear if there are troops on that ship, if it is a
support tactic, if it is indeed part of that
contingency plan the Indonesian armed forces have
devised for the period of the vote. Again that was
already agreed to or already decided upon some time
ago.
As to your second question about who's who? Strictly
speaking the militias are the anti-independence or
pro-autonomy camp. They identify themselves as such,
whereas the people who are supporting independence
come into a few categories. They are not usually
referred to as militias, per se.
The first category is Falantil, who are armed
resistance fighters. They have been in the hills for
decades here. The second category is much more loose.
They consist of pro-independence supporters, some of
whom, not all, do take up crude arms and have engaged
in street fights, as we saw Wednesday, with the anti-
independence militias.
As a journalist here I can tell you it is very easy to
tell which forces are antagonistic and which are not.
It is in the interest of the pro-independence camp for
the foreign media to be here as well as for the United
Nations to be here. They want the international eye.
They tend to help in the field, they -- to be fair
along with Indonesian police in many instances -- do
what they can to protect foreign journalists when they
are under attack.
The militias on the other hand are extremely agitated,
extremely jumpy, in many cases, including Wednesday.
The media sort of get into their sights, if you will,
because they will typically hear gunfire, they will
hear fighting, they will go to the area to cover that
and whatever the militias were engaged in at the time,
they become diverted and turn their wrath then onto
the journalists.
So, as I say, it is usually pretty easy to tell when
you are going to run into trouble and when you are
not.
It is extremely volatile, several journalists were
beaten up yesterday. It is really a surprise that
none of them were killed, as far as we know now.
Indonesian journalists are evacuating today. The
Indonesian government has told them that if they want
to leave, they may, with military transport.
Q. The violence began, as vote-counting started in
Dili. Has the violence interrupted the count?
A. According the United Nations mission, no. The
ballots were already in town Wednesday, they were
brought into the capital from the polling stations by
helicopter and they are in a building fairly close to
the airport.
In the midst of the melee Wednesday at U-N
headquarters I overheard civilian police talking on
their two-way radios saying that a battalion of
Indonesian police had been sent to guard the building
where the ballot-counting is taking place. There was
really only one instance when the process of
collecting the ballots was affected. One helicopter
was not able to land where it was sent to retrieve
ballots. Militia on the ground threw rocks and fired
at the helicopter. But that does not represent the
large number of ballots.
Counting is going on today and the United Nations says
it sticks by its promise to stay here through the
counting period, through the announcement and in the
weeks beyond.
NEB/LW/FC
02-Sep-1999 03:23 AM LOC (02-Sep-1999 0723 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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