DATE=9/15/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EAST TIMOR / SITREP (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-253899
BYLINE=PATRICIA NUNAN
DATELINE=JAKARTA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: United Nations officials in the East
Timorese capital, Dili, say pro-Indonesia
militias appear to be preparing to withdraw from
the city. The militias have controlled the
capital and much of East Timor for roughly two
weeks, killing thousands and forcing hundreds of
thousands to flee. As Patricia Nunan reports
from Jakarta, the preparations by the militias
come as the Security Council in New York has
reached agreement authorizing a peacekeeping
mission to East Timor.
Text: U-N officials in Dili say there are still
armed militia-men roaming the streets of the East
Timorese capital, but it seems they are preparing
to withdraw from the city. Just a dozen U-N
officials remain in Dili, after more than one
hundred were evacuated Tuesday to the northern
Australian city of Darwin.
Roughly 13 hundred refugees who had been taking
shelter at a schoolyard next to the U-N compound
were also evacuated.
Meanwhile, the U-N Security Council in New York
unanimously authorized peacekeeping forces to be
deployed to East Timor. Up to eight thousand
troops from nearly a dozen different countries
are expected to participate in the force, with
Australia dominating the mission with roughly 45
hundred troops.
The rampage began after the United Nations
announced that almost 80 percent of East Timorese
voters decided the territory should break free of
Indonesian rule, in a U-N-supervised referendum.
Indonesia has controlled East Timor since it
invaded in 1975.
The peacekeeping force could be launched in East
Timor as soon as this weekend. U-N officials also
hope to begin air dropping humanitarian relief
supplies to refugees in East Timor's interior as
soon as possible.
Indonesian President B-J Habibie said he would
expect the international peacekeepers to work
with Indonesian troops in East Timor. But senior
U-N officials have accused the Indonesian
military of participating in the militia
violence. The U-N High Commissioner for Human
Rights has called for a special inquiry to
determine whether certain Indonesian Armed Forces
commanders should be charged with crimes against
humanity for the military's alleged actions in
East Timor. (Signed)
NEB/PN/GC/KL
15-Sep-1999 07:11 AM EDT (15-Sep-1999 1111 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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