DATE=9/22/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=INDONESIA ACTIVIST (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254184
BYLINE=BRONWYN CURRAN
DATELINE=JAKARTA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: As thousands of East Timorese refugees
continue to pour into other parts of Indonesia, many
are describing in vivid detail the violence they left
behind. And they are calling for the perpetrators to
be brought before an international war crimes
tribunal. Bronwyn Curran talked to one independence
youth leader about what he saw.
TEXT: Mariano Sabino Lopes is a top youth leader and
independence fighter for East Timor. He was among
several refugees who found sanctuary at Bishop Belo's
residence in Dili after the vote for independence was
announced on August 30th.
He says the referendum should have been a golden
moment in the history of East Timor. Instead, he
says, there were only sounds of gunshots, and women
and children crying.
///ACT LOPES IN INDONESIAN: VOICE OVER///
Suddenly four trucks pulled up loaded with armed
soldiers in full uniform, then another truck
full of Aitarak militia. They surrounded the
Bishop's house. More trucks surrounded the Red
Cross office and the Turismo hotel. They opened
fire, shooting first at the roofs, then directly
at the people, the refugees in the Bishop's
house and the Red Cross office, then at the
ground. And I saw a child named Lillie, the
daughter of Macario, a student activist. She
was shot. She was shot in the eyes and I saw her
eye fall out.
//END ACT//
Mr. Lopes says he can identify the army battalion he
saw attacking the Bishop's house and killing an
estimated 30 people. And he says he can name generals
who masterminded much of the violence in East Timor.
Human rights groups say those responsible should be
brought to justice. United Nations Human Rights
Commissioner Mary Robinson has recommended that an
international war crimes tribunal be set up.
International lawyers have already begun compiling
evidence of atrocities.
After seeing his friend's daughter and other children
attacked, Mr. Lopes pledged to collect evidence
against the members of the militia who opened fired on
them.
///ACT LOPES IN INDONESIAN: VOICE OVER///
I saw before me the most evil human tragedy in
East Timor's history. I vowed that if I
survived, my friends (and I) would dig for proof
to guarantee that they are prosecuted, because
they are guilty of crimes against this state,
this nation, this era.
///END ACT///
Many suspect the Indonesian army has been behind the
militia violence. Mr. Lopes says the best evidence of
the atrocities will be testimony from members of the
pro-Jakarta militias who were working with the
Indonesian military.
///ACT LOPES///
If the militia leaders survive, they can provide
proof powerful enough to drag the generals to an
international court. So as of now, they face a
greater threat than independence leaders do.
When they have finished carrying out the
scorched earth policy, the next to be attacked
will be the militias, so the soldiers can wipe
out any existing evidence.
///END ACT///
While the militias are being blamed for the violence,
Mr. Lopes suspects that some members may have been
forced to fight against independence, after soldiers
threatened their families and children.
///ACT LOPES///
On the surface it seems that the militias are
crueler than the soldiers. But when we were
forced from the Bishop's residence into the yard
outside, I saw many Aitarak militiamen crying;
some were trying to help the refugees.
//END ACT///
Mr. Lopes says he is a prime target for the militia.
As a top youth leader of the East Timor independence
movement, he is widely thought to be a possible
successor to rebel leader Xanana Gusmao.
He says a businessman paid militia leaders and an army
commander 38-hundred dollars to smuggle him and his
fiancee out of East Timor.
Mr. Lopes says he will remain in hiding in Jakarta
until he can move to another town. But he believes he
is still in danger. He says anti-independence forces
have been assigned to track down pro-independence
figures in other parts of Indonesia.
Mr. Lopes and his friends say it is still too
dangerous to attempt to investigate some of the
reported killings. Their priority now is to protect
their own lives until it is safe to go home again.
(SIGNED)
NEB/BC/GC/FC/BK
22-Sep-1999 08:26 AM LOC (22-Sep-1999 1226 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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