Subject: BBC: Attack on Bishop Belo's Convoy
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 08:35:09 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_316000/316455.stm
Sunday, April 11, 1999 Published at 06:10 GMT 07:10 UK
World: Asia-Pacific
Timorese bishop's convoy attacked
Parishioners cry during Bishop Belo's mass at in Liquica
One of East Timor's most prominent figures, the Nobel prize-winning Bishop Carlos Belo,
has escaped injury in an attack on his convoy as it returned from the scene of an alleged
massacre.
The bishop had just left the town of Liquica after holding mass for the victims of an
attack there earlier in the week.
As his convoy passed by, more than 30 pro-Indonesian militia members pelted the
vehicles with rocks, stones and metal pipes.
One person was injured in the attack, and at least three cars in the convoy were
damaged.
The bishop had just called off peace talks aimed at ending the worsening violence in
the territory pending a proper report into last week's violence.
According to the BBC's Jakarta correspondent, Jonathan Head, the attack on the convoy
suggests that Bishop Belo is no longer regarded as neutral.
Government involvement suspected
Talks being organised by Bishop Belo between opposing factions were part of a process
sponsored by the United Nations which is expected to lead to a vote on the future status
of East Timor in July.
Bishop Belo said he had withdrawn his participation until the Indonesian authorities
provided more information about the reported massacre in Liquica.
He accuses Indonesian troops and police of involvement in the killings, which were said
to have been carried out by pro-Indonesian militias.
It was one of the worst incidents of violence in East Timor in recent months.
Bishop outraged
According to the authorities, only five people died in the violence, but Bishop Belo
says the total death toll is at least 25.
The town's priest has described local residents taking shelter in the church and inside
his house being butchered like animals.
Eye-witnesses said hundreds of people were attacked. So far, none of the bodies has
been handed over by the military.
The former Portuguese colony was invaded by Indonesia in 1975, but the Indonesian
Government has said it can have independence if its inhabitants vote against an offer of
autonomy.
Since the events in Liquica, an East Timorese man is reported to have died in clashes
with security forces in the town of Gleno near the scene of Tuesday's killings.
The state news agency Antara said the man was a member of the Falentil resistance
group.
UN warning
Bishop Belo has asked the Indonesian military to release the bodies of the victims and
to give evidence to support its conclusion that only five people died.
The UN has warned that a ballot on East Timor's future cannot go ahead while the
violence continues.
And the rebel leader, Xanana Gusmao, has given his supporters the green light to defend
themselves against attack.
In response, the Indonesian government is threatening to move him from house arrest
back into jail.
According to the BBC correspondent, President Habibie's dramatic offer of independence
last January seems to have backfired.
Indonesia's insistence on a rapid timetable for the vote rather than a more gradual
transitional period appears to have provoked opponents of independence and their military
backers to start using force to expand their areas of influence.
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