Subject: AFP: 16 Flee East Timor Prison
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 23:19:31 +1000
ASIA: 16 FLEE EAST TIMOR PRISON AS POPULATION PROTESTS
EDS: WITH INDON TIMOR PROTEST
JAKARTA, Oct 10 AFP - Sixteen inmates escaped from an Indonesian prison in the troubled
territory of East Timor today as the population of the main city of Dili launched a
"silent protest" against the Jakarta-appointed governor.
The inmates fled through the front gate as visitors were leaving the Becora state
prison, the state-run Antara news agency and a prison official said by telephone from
Dili.
"The inmates ran through the main gate along with people who were leaving when
visiting hours ended," AG Mayun Mataram, prison ward at Becora prison in Dili,said.
Mataram said all 203 East Timorese held in Becora stormed the main gate, causing panic
among the guards, who called for troops from the police mobile brigade (Brimob).
"In panic, the guards soon asked for help from Brimob, but by the time the troops
came, 16 inmates had managed to escape by jumping across the fences," Mataram told
Antara.
Many of the guards were today absent amid rumours there would be a big demonstration to
demand that East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares step down, he said.
Only four of the usual 12 guards were on duty today, he said.
After the incident, the 187 inmates left in Becora were prohibited from wandering
around the prison complex.
Meanwhile, hundreds of East Timorese civil servants launched a "silent
protest" against a threat by the governor to fire them if they did not endorse
Indonesia's proposal of autonomy for the former Portuguese colony.
The National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) said in a separate communique
received here that all inhabitants had been asked to stay home today, and the strike would
be followed by mass street rallies tomorrow and on Monday.
Indonesia invaded East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, in 1975, and annexed the
territory a year later after heavy fighting in a move never recognised by the United
Nations and most countries.
United Nations-sponsored talks between Jakarta and Lisbon, which severed ties with
Indonesia shortly after the invasion, have dragged on since 1983.
Since the fall of former president Suharto May 21, the new government of President BJ
Habibie has offered to grant special autonomy to the troubled territory in return for
international recognition of Indonesian sovereignty.
Indonesia and Portugal are currently discussing Jakarta's proposal.
AFP 10/10/98 21:48 AEST
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