Subject: SMH: Jakarta unleashes military enforcers;
Zacky recalled
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 14:49:22 EDT
From: Joyo@aol.com Sydney Morning Herald Saturday, August 28, 1999
Jakarta unleashes military enforcers
By MARK DODD, Herald Correspondent in Dili
Indonesia has suddenly replaced senior military commanders in riot-torn East Timor with
top-level officers believed to have been picked by the Defence Minister, General Wiranto.
Senior Western diplomatic sources say intense international pressure is behind the
recalls - which include Major-General Zacky Anwar, an intelligence officer based in the
territory's capital, Dili.
As well, two senior military officers in command of district posts in strife-torn Suai
and Maliana are also believed to have been reassigned ahead of Monday's vote to decide the
territory's future.
An Indonesian military delegation of 25 senior officers led by an army commander close
to General Wiranto was expected to take over by the weekend, a senior diplomat said.
The changes come as efforts to pressure the United Nations into sending armed troops
into East Timor failed, leaving the Indonesian military in control.
The UN decision came despite a scathing attack overnight by its Secretary-General, Mr
Kofi Annan, in which he said Thursday's militia violence in Dili had left him
"appalled".
At least five people were confirmed dead, more than 12 injured, and property destroyed.
Thousands of people rushed to escape the disputed territory after continuing violence
in Dili.
Families carrying mattresses, chairs, tables and other household goods jammed
gang-planks to get aboard the last passenger ferry to leave Dili's wharf.
Independent observers reported that roads out of East Timor into the Indonesian
province of Nusa Tenggara Timur were also crowded with families fleeing three days ahead
of Monday's vote.
In Dili, the head of the UN Mission Assistance in East Timor (UNAMET), Mr Ian Martin,
said yesterday that although he believed there was a new willingness in Jakarta to act
against militia violence, this was "not translating into the conduct of Indonesian
security forces on the ground".
In Canberra, government sources acknowledged that Australia may have to send in armed
troops to rescue Australians and other foreigners if the Indonesian military was unable to
provide protection for the operation.
But they emphasised that if evacuation became necessary in the next days or weeks, it
would be carried out at UN request and only with Indonesian consent.
A senior Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sulaiman Abdulmanan, asked about
remarks by the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, said yesterday: "We don't need
international pressure. We have already decided ourselves to solve this problem."
He said Indonesian authorities were working to implement the terms of an agreement with
the UN for conducting the ballot.
Mr Howard had warned that the world would be monitoring Indonesia's handling of the
results after the ballot.
A senior diplomatic source in Dili who wished to remain anonymous said the decision to
recall General Anwar was made by General Wiranto.
General Anwar, a career intelligence officer serving as senior military liaison to the
UN mission, left Dili on Monday for Jakarta and has not returned, the diplomat said.
A colleague of General Anwar said last weekend that the staff officer, who has a long
and controversial involvement in East Timor, said he had been ordered to return to
Jakarta.
Meanwhile, credible reports indicated that General Anwar would be replaced by the head
of Kopassus (Special Forces Command), a close colleague of General Wiranto.
When contacted for comment, Indonesian military sources in Dili declined to confirm or
deny the developments.
"Our thoughts are this - Wiranto is on line to try and stop this violence,"
one diplomat source said. "He's got all this international pressure and he wants to
be [Indonesia's] next vice-president."
In a surprise move, Kopassus Colonel Tono Suratman was replaced last week by Colonel
Mohamed Noer Muis as East Timor's military commander.
Overnight Mr Annan called on Indonesian authorities to arrest those responsible for
Thursday's bloody mayhem and reaffirmed the determination of UNAMET to hold the ballot.
Human rights officials based in Dili reported scores of residents fleeing Kuluhun and
Becora to escape militia retribution although calm was restored yesterday.
After militia threats, the localstaff of the UN refugee agency(UNHCR) fled yesterday,
leaving the Dili office manned byone expatriate.
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