Military blamed for violence against Timor refugees

March 22, 2000
Web posted at: 8:02 a.m. HKT (0002 GMT)

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- U.N. Security Council members Tuesday criticized the Indonesian military's role in continuing Timorese militia violence.

Security Council members were told in a briefing by a U.N. special observer on East Timor, "elements of the Indonesia armed forces continued to tolerate and even support the militias in West Timor."

In an open meeting following the briefing, council members highlighted their concerns over continued violence against refugees still in West Timor who were being harassed by the pro-Indonesia militias.

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Hedi Annabi, the special observer, told the Security Council that while improvements were being made in the general welfare of the island, refugees have faced harassment and militia violence as they returned from Indonesia controlled West Timor, including shooting incidents at border crossings.

Annabi told the council there were improvements in regards to police, tax collection and the judicial process.

He said 153,000 refugees have returned to East Timor since an international force (INTERFET) took control of the island in late 1999, but there were still some 100,000 refugees, half of whom wish to return from West Timor.

British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, reacting to this report, told the council that the incidents of violence upon refugees sounds like the worst since "INTERFET first went over there."

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