DATE=9/24/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EAST TIMOR / SECURITY HANDOVER CQ(L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254286
BYLINE=PATRICIA NUNAN
DATELINE=DILI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
// editors: corrects introduction - formally
sted formerly //
INTRO: The head of the Indonesian military in East
Timor says he will formally hand over control of
security of the territory to the multi-national
peacekeeping force -- led by Major General Peter
Cosgrove -- next week. As Patricia Nunan reports from
the East Timorese capital, Dili, the announcement
comes as Indonesian troops continue to withdraw from
the troubled territory.
TEXT: The Indonesian commander for martial law in East
Timor General Kiki Syahnakri says his forces have been
successful at reducing the amount of killing, looting
and destruction in the territory, but they cannot
control the entire situation.
//SYAHNAKRI ACT IN INDONESIAN: EST. FADE DOWN//
General Syahakri said: "we cannot provide a peaceful
environment here. That would be a long process. But I
believe the command under General Cosgrove can make it
happen."
The Indonesian armed forces will formally hand over
command of security in East Timor to the Australian-
led peacekeeping mission sometime next week.
General Syahakri says the withdrawal of 11 thousand-
500 Indonesian troops will be completed Saturday. But
45-hundred troops will remain behind to help
coordinate security with the international
peacekeepers.
A multi-national peacekeeping force was deployed in
East Timor Monday, in order to bring stability to the
territory after two weeks of violence by armed militia
groups. The militias are opposed to East Timor's
independence from Indonesia.
Thousands of people are feared dead and hundreds of
thousands were forced to flee when the militias went
on a bloody rampage across the territory.
The violence was largely sparked by the announcement
made by the United Nations that almost 80 percent of
East Timorese voters decided the territory should
break free of Indonesian rule, in a special referendum
held in August. So far, there are three-thousand
peacekeepers in East Timor. Roughly eight-thousand
troops from 20 different nations will be deployed to
the territory in the coming weeks.
The withdrawal of the Indonesian military has not been
without difficulties. Troops are lighting their own
barracks on fire, as they pull out of the capital, in
order not to leave anything behind that could be of
use to the East Timorese or the multinational force.
/// ACT: HELICOPTER SOUND ///
Meanwhile, helicopters circle the skies around Dili,
as peacekeepers launched an operation Friday to find
and arrest suspected militiamen hiding in the East
Timorese capital. On the ground, troops in armored
personnel carriers stood guard, while peacekeepers
scoured the remains of burnt-out buildings looking for
suspects. So far, at least three suspected militia
members have been arrested.
The Australian Defense Forces announced Friday morning
that they have arrested the highest-profile militia
member to date. Australian officers say Caetano Da
Silva is a platoon commander from the Aitarak militia.
They say his arrest should indicate to other militia
members that they will all eventually have to face
justice. (Signed)
NEB/PN/GC/FC/rrm
24-Sep-1999 08:57 AM EDT (24-Sep-1999 1257 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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