Agence France Presse March 21, 2000, Tuesday

Gusmao wants Indonesian army chief punished for East Timor atrocities

DATELINE: STOCKHOLM, March 21

East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao called Tuesday for former Indonesian military leader General Wiranto to be punished for troop atrocities in the territory.

Gusmao, who is on a tour of European Union countries, said in Stockholm that the prosecution of Wiranto as a necessary step towards establishing peace in East Timor.

"I hope General Wiranto will be punished. It's important for the democratic process," he told a news conference.

Wiranto was suspended as security minister by President Abdurrahman Wahid in February after he was held "morally responsible" by a domestic inquiry for last year's violence in East Timor when it voted to breakaway from Indonesia.

Gusmao, president of the National Council of East Timorese Resistance, condemned border raids and civilian murders by militias which followed the visit to Dili by Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid last February.

He also repeated he would not be standing for the East Timorese presidency.

"I won't stand for president. We need to cut the future from the past, the actors of the past from the actors of the future," he said.

Gusmao is to attend a working breakfast in Porto on Thursday with representatives of Portugal and France, the current and future holders of the rotating EU presidency, and EU security chief Javier Solana. East Timor is a former Portuguese colony.

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