E.TIMOR: MILITIAS STORM COMPOUND, SHOOT ESCAPEES 

10 Sep. 99 – Indonesian militia opposed to independence for East Timor
are reported to have forced their way into the compound of the United
Nations mission in Dili, where refugees have been sheltering since the
referendum, reports BBC News. A local source said the militia,
accompanied by regular Indonesian troops, smashed windows and
cars. The incident comes as the UN began pulling out the bulk of its
remaining staff from the besieged compound. The militias are now
trying to drive out the remaining UN staff, who were refusing to leave
without taking the 1,000 refugees with them. The Guardian reports 700
refugees inside the compound fled during the night, leaving 1,700,
mostly women and children, still inside. Sporadic shooting was heard
from the hill to which they fled. The Times, reports Indonesian soldiers
were waiting for them, and started shooting as the refugees fled.
Liberation reports the refugees in the compound were to be transferred
under UN protection to resistance-controlled Dare, according to a deal
between the UN and the Indonesian army. Meanwhile AFP reports
Asia-Pacific Bureau Chief Francois Fouinat yesterday urged Jakarta to
let UNHCR resume operations in East Timor as soon as possible.
[Militia invade UN compound – http://news.bbc.co.uk; East Timor
militias call off siege of UN compound – www.newsunlimited.co.uk;
Soldiers shoot refugees as they flee safety of UN base –
www.the-times.co.uk; 'We are sending these refugees to their death' –
www.liberation.fr; UNHCR meets Indonesian foreign minister on aid to
East Timor – www.afp.com] 

INDONESIA: E.TIMORESE RECOUNT MASSACRES, EXPULSIONS

10 Sep. 99 – Thousands of East Timorese refugees, forced into West
Timor by pro-Indonesian militias, described widespread massacres and
arson attacks in their smouldering homeland yesterday, as
international outrage grew at the Indonesian military's failure to restore
security, reports CNN. But Indonesian officials denied the massacres
were taking place and again rejected calls to allow a UN peacekeeping
force into East Timor. The Roman Catholic Church accused
pro-Indonesian militiamen of targeting nuns and priests in the
predominantly Catholic territory. More than 200,000 East Timorese
have been forced to leave their homeland, UN officials said, 50,000 of
them herded into militia-run camps in West Timor. Nobel laureate Jose
Ramos Horta called it "ethnic cleansing." BBC News reports refugees
fleeing East Timor have given accounts of a systematic policy of
expulsions carried out by the pro-Jakarta militia and the Indonesian
security forces. [Refugees, Vatican describe 'genocide' in East Timor –
http://cnn.com; Mass expulsions in Timor – http://news.bbc.co.uk] 

INDONESIA: E.TIMORESE 'HOSTAGES' ATTACKED 

10 Sep. 99 –UNHCR yesterday said pro-Jakarta militias had attacked refugeecamps in West Timor, reports Reuters. UNHCR Asia-Pacific directorFrancois Fouinat said he had seen evidence of attacks against thosewho fled bloodshed in East Timor. He estimated more than 45,000
refugees were in West Timor. AFP reports Caritas Australia today said
more than 30,000 East Timorese forced into Indonesia should be
viewed as hostages and not refugees. The Washington Post reports the
refugees are coming under the rule of the same militias that are
rampaging through the territory they just left. Uniformed militiamen have
been preventing international organisations and journalists from entering
refugee camps in West Timor, making it difficult to determine how the
refugees are faring or to obtain accounts of the violence in East Timor.
About 68,000 refugees have poured into western Timor, according to I.
Made Sutama, UNICEF's office head in Kupang. They were being
housed in three main camps. Shelters made of palm branches were
being quickly erected. The refugees are straining local and international
aid efforts in western Timor. "We are worried that if the flow of refugees
continues our capacity to handle them will be reached," Sutama said.
"The big problem is drinking water." The Times adds the militiamen are
inciting both pro-Jakarta and pro-independence Timorese to blame the
West for the terror that has overtaken them. [UN says militias hit
refugees in West Timor – www.reuters.com; Timorese are hostages,
says Australian aid body – www.afp.com; East Timorese Refugees
Find No Escape From the Militias They Fled –
www.washingtonpost.co; Fear pursues refugees to West Timor –
www.the-times.co.uk]