| Subject: AFP: Aust
troops accused of sexual abuse/ with JRH's comments
Aussie peacekeepers accused of sexual
abuse in East Timor SYDNEY, Jan 17 (AFP) - Australia's military has apologised for the behaviour of a group of soldiers accused of terrorising East Timorese girls they were supposed to protect, their commander said Monday. A series of incidents over several nights late last year has seriously embarrassed troops who have won international praise for peacekeeping and sparked a major investigation to identify the men involved. "We are angry and we are taking some fairly strong steps to both find any culprits and make sure that people understand that it's just not on," Major-General Peter Cosgrove, commanding officer of the Australian-led peacekeeping force in East Timor (Interfet) said. "We have apologised, of course, to the young women involved by saying we are aghast at this, as are 99.9 percent of the people who would be here," Cosgrove told ABC radio from Dili. "I dare say the other 0.1 percent would be feeling very guilty and stupid." The Australian newspaper said the incidents involved up to six young daughters of a Timorese family separated by the campaign of terror and murder waged in September by Indonesian-army backed militia after the August 30 self-rule ballot. The most serious happened on December 16, hours after the daughters had been reunited with their parents, who had fled as refugees to West Timor. Their mother hid behind a tree as a group of Australian men in civilian dress stormed a house in the Dili suburb of Palapasu, shouting that they "wanted a lady." The mother later told friends she was considering taking the family back to West Timor because it was safer there. One of the complainants, an 18-year-old girl, told the paper that in the lead up to the December 16 incident, she and her sisters had been repeatedly sexually harassed by Australian soldiers. "We were very upset," the girl reportedly said. "Sometimes they come to our house and say they are looking for a woman." The girl said that on the night of November 24, "five to seven" men entered the family's house, a two-storey building which had lost its doors and windows in the militia rampage. "They were looking for us in our room, but thank God we were not there," she said. "They were drunk, wearing shorts with no T-shirts." Military police who went to the house later arrested two soldiers wearing civilian clothes but they were only charged of being out of bounds after the women said they were not those who came to their house. "I have no doubt that from their dealings with our military police that they are confident that we are not simply whitewashing here. They know that we are angry and looking for the soldiers," said Cosgrove. He said the case is not closed. "It can't be closed until we have exhausted all possibilities," he said, describing the sexual harassment as verbal and obnoxious but very isolated. Australian unit commanders were being "strongly counselled" on the need for the troops to behave decently, he said, adding that those troops involved in the incidents should turn themselves in. "We've got a very good record here," he said. "Every day we've got people putting their lives on the line for the East Timorese and they do that happily and gladly and they don't respond well when a stupid act by a very small proportion of the group lets the side down." East Timorese leader Jose Ramos-Horta said from Dili that he accepted it was an isolated incident and had full confidence in Interfet's leadership to deal with the matter appropriately. "Any conflict arising from sexual harassment would have devastating consequences for the good name of the United Nations," he told ABC radio. "Interfet behaviour here, so far, has been almost flawless." East Timorese say women were sexually abused by Indonesian soldiers who ruled the territory by force for 24 years until Interfet, which included about 6,000 Australians at its peak, arrived on September 20. So far, eight Australian soldiers have been sent home for disciplinary matters, none of them related to sexual harassment or impropriety, said Lieutenant Colonel Charles Reynolds of the Interfet. jt-it/kw/smc Back to
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