BBC Summary of World Broadcasts September 09, 2000, Saturday

Militia links Australian intelligence with Atambua attack Source: 'Republika', Jakarta, in Indonesian 8 Sep 00

Excerpts from report by Indonesian newspaper 'Republika' web site on 8th September

New York: ... Reacting to Downer's statement, the Union of Timor Warriors (UNTAS) spokesman Mario Vieira said that [Australian Foreign Minister] Downer's charge [that East Timorese pro-Jakarta militia leader Eurico Guterres was involved in the Atambua incident] was made to cover up the role of Australian intelligence agencies, which had been involved in creating the unrest.

"Downer's accusation is crazy, and he only said that to cover up the involvement of Australian intelligence, which we are sure played a role in the unrest at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR] Atambua office," he said in Kupang yesterday [7th September].

In relation to [this alleged role], Vieira referred to the presence of an Australian infantry officer with the rank of major who was in Atambua on 24th and 25th August 2000.

"We established that this officer was named Met Quen [as received; ?Matt Quinn]. Can the Australian government please explain to the Indonesian government just what this man was doing there?" he added.

He said that local papers in Atambua and Kupang were full of rumours in the three weeks before the attack on the UNHCR that an attack was imminent. According to these reports, Maj Met Quen was an officer who had completed the Army Staff and Command [Sesko] course at Bandung.

Strangely, said Vieira, after completing that course, Quen did not return to Australia. He was allegedly going to retire and rent a house in Bandung. "But evidently, on 24th - 25th August, he was wandering around Atambua. Actually, an officer who graduates from Sesko usually gets a promotion - he doesn't seek to retire," he said.

All this was very suspicious and made Vieira and associates suspect the involvement of Australia. Moreover, said Vieira, Quen had a dual identity, having variously claimed to be either a businessman or a student attending lectures in Yogyakarta...

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