Subject: AU: Timor militia accused of sex-slavery
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 17:35:31 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <fbp@igc.apc.org>Received from Joyo Indonesian
News:
The Australian 1 June 99
Timor militia accused of sex-slavery
By JOHN ZUBRZYCKI
DILI: Disturbing reports have emerged from East Timor that women are being used as sex
slaves by a pro-Indonesia militia as part of a campaign to cleanse areas that support
independence.
A document from the National Council for the East Timor Resistance (CNRT), which has
been obtained by The Australian, contains detailed information including names of women
who have been forced into slavery and other people who have been killed or tortured by the
militia.
The document – dated May 28 and signed by Ete Uco Terbatim, the CNRT head of
Region Four, which takes in areas of the province bordering West Timor – also reports
that preparations are being made for a major offensive by militia groups, supported by the
Indonesian military, after the June 7 national election. It says women from the villages
of Ulmera, Fahi Lebo and Leorema, near the town of Hatolia, about 60km south of Dili, have
been taken from their families and forced to work for the militia during the day.
"At night our sisters are forced to offer their bodies for the wishes of the
militia. This is incorrect and violent," says the document, which is written in
Portuguese. "The militia are destroying houses, killing, raping and terrorising the
people they find in the villages. The people are forced to evacuate to the forest. Those
unable to evacuate were captured and submitted to interrogation and torture."
An annex to the report contains the names of more than 60 people affected by the
violence over a 10-day period, including about a dozen who have been confirmed dead.
The CNRT report says the violence and intimidation is being carried out by the Naga
Merah (Red Dragon) militia, under the command of "Lucas", to root out
pro-independence sympathisers.
It tallies with other information collected by church groups and submitted to the UN
Assistance Mission for East Timor (UNAMET) in Dili. A UNAMET electoral survey team on
Saturday visited the area, but has yet to deliver its report. Sources close to the UN said
it had made some "disturbing" findings.
The CNRT document also alleges a member of the Forum for Unity, Democracy and Justice,
the political front of the militias, met with the chief of police in Gleno on May 24 and
advised the militia to hide weapons ahead of the UN team's arrival in the town.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has until mid-June to decide whether conditions in East
Timor are conducive to an August 8 ballot on autonomy for the territory.
Meanwhile, the Popular Council for the Defence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor
has called for the complete withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the territory ahead of
the August vote.
The situation in Dili yesterday remained tense ahead of an expected militia sweep of
the city to check voter registration cards.
Back to June Menu
Human Rights Violations in East Timor
Main Postings Menu
June '98 through February '99 |
