Subject: Persecution of refugees stepped-up
throughout Indonesia
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 10:45:39 -0400Persecution of refugees stepped-up throughout
Indonesia
DARWIN, Australia, Sept 22 (AFP) - The persecution of East Timor refugees has spread
throughout Indonesia, with the military stepping up a campaign of harassment and terror in
places such as Bali and Java, the Carter Center said Wednesday.
Churches, hotel owners and local residents were being ordered to inform on the
whereabouts of refugees, the Center said citing reliable sources.
"Refugees from East Timor continue to be harasssed, intimidated and forced to flee
from places in which they have sought refuge," the Center said in a statement handed
to AFP.
It pointed to Denpasar, in Bali, and the Javanese cities of Surabaya, Malang, Solo,
Yogyakarta and the capital Jakarta.
Indonesian authorities, with the assistance of local government officials, members of
the FPDK (a pro-autonomy umbrella organisation) and suspected militia were "ordering
churches, hotels, boarding houses and neighbourhood residents to report the presence of
Timorese refugees".
In Bali, a popular tourist destination, police and military officials had visited
Timorese shelters and told them a "sweeping operation" was underway to
"arrest and drive them out of their refuges".
This included Kuta Beach, a favourite among foreign holidaymakers.
"Indonesian soldiers and FPDK members have approached and threatened Timorese
residents, barring access to banks, shops and telephone bureaus."
The US-based watchdog said it had evidence that police officers and militiamen murdered
at least one refugee who was travelling by sea from Kupang, in West Timor, to Bali on
September 13.
It said a group of armed police wearing T-shirts of the Kontingen Lorosai (the special
police contingent sent to East Timor to oversee security) dragged two refugees from their
room on the passenger ferry Anu.
They were severely beaten before one of the two was taken away.
A short time later a self-proclaimed Aitarak milita member boasted to the wife of the
man: "I wouldn't bother looking for your husband because I killed him myself."
The Carter Center, whose representatives were forced out of Dili at gunpoint on
September 5, is a non-profit institute dedicated to peace and eradicating poverty.
It was set up and directed by former US President Jimmy Carter.
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