INDONESIA: DILI: EAST TIMOR DEMONSTRATIONS

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9 жыл бұрын

(13 Nov 1994) NatSot/Tatum
Thousands of East Timorese - demanding an end to Indonesian rule - have rampaged through the streets of the island's capital, Dili.
Rioting broke out after a church service to remember the victims of a massacre three years ago this weekend. In that massacre, 200 pro-independence demonstrators were killed by government troops.
They had come to Sunday mass to remember the dead from the slaughter of Santa Cruz in 1991. But as the congregation filed out from communion, the mood turned from sorrow to anger.
The banners proclaimed their fight to rid the island of Indonesian rule. The flag of free Timor held aloft in defiance. The protest clearly timed to coincide with the arrival of world leaders, including US President Bill Clinton for an economic summit in the capital, Jakarta.
Amid the noise, there were calls for Clinton to intervene on behalf of jailed Timorese leader Zananu Gusmao. Mr Clinton will raise the Indonesian human rights record in a meeting with the country's president on Wednesday.
Fearing a repeat of the bloodshed at Santa Cruz which has characterised the East Timorese struggle, the Catholic bishop Carlos Belo appealed for calm.
The bishop's words were heeded briefly, and the crowd began to move off.
But a few hundred yards away, the mob regrouped - and anger erupted into violence.
Any symbol of authority was a target. The police briefly losing control as the crowd went on the rampage.
Reinforcements were brought in, and as the mob swelled to more than a thousand, the troops charged. Sticks and stones flew through the air. Although the fires burnt on, the violence in the main subsided and the streets became calm - although sporadic incidents continued in the city centre. With the government troops on maximum alert, tension across Dili remains high.
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@redid1859 7 жыл бұрын

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