Subject: CNN/Reuters - East Timorese demand
referendum, prisoners riot
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 11:28:20 +0100
From: "Paula Carvalho Pinto" <paularoque@mail.telepac.pt> East Timorese
demand referendum, prisoners riot
October 12, 1998 Web posted at: 12:54 PM EDT (1654 GMT)
JAKARTA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Prisoners rioted at a jail in East Timor's capital Dili on
Monday as thousands of people took to the streets in the territory demanding a referendum
on independence from Indonesian rule, locals said.
Some residents said there were reports prisoners had been shot during the riot, but a
prison official said there had been no casualties.
"There has been trouble in the prison, but there are no casualties. I can't give
you other details," the official at Becora prison told Reuters by telephone.
It was unclear what sparked the riot. Police and the military could not be reached for
comment.
Residents said prisoners clashed with Indonesian troops during the riot inside the jail
as protesters moved around Dili in buses, trucks and motorcycles to protest against
Jakarta's rule in the territory of 800,000 people.
"We've heard reports of clashes in the prison which involved inmates and the
military. We've also heard some prisoners were hit by bullets," said one resident.
Protesters also took to the streets of the eastern town of Baucau, with thousands of
people displaying banners with pictures of jailed guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao, the
official Antara news agency reported.
Anti-Indonesia protests have flared up in East Timor in recent days, sparked by
comments from the Jakarta-appointed governor Abilio Soares that civil servants would risk
being fired if they opposed Indonesia's proposals on granting autonomy but not
independence to the territory.
Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following year in a move not
recognised by the United Nations which still regards the former colonial ruler Portugal as
the administering power.
Portugal and Indonesia held three days of talks at the United Nations last week but
came to no agreement on Indonesia's proposals for granting wide-ranging autonomy to East
Timor as a final settlement of the dispute over the territory.
The two sides are due to meet again in November.
On October 6, Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said the government would not
allow a referendum on independence for East Timor.
He said Indonesia's proposal of granting wider autonomy for the territory was the best
hope for resolving the dispute.
Copyright 1998 Reuters. © 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
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