Subject: AI UA 117/99 EAST TIMOR Fear for safety
Date: 24 May 99 18:00:44 -0400
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PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 21/44/99 24 May 1999
UA 117/99 Fear for safety / fear of torture and ill-treatment
EAST TIMOR
Luis Avarisdo Lopes
Luis Avarisdo Lopes was arrested on 24 May 1999 in Dili by "a local leader"
of the eastern part of Dili. He was subsequently handed over to the Military Intelligence
Unit (Satuan Tugas Intelijen, SGI) in Dili, where Amnesty International is concerned that
he is at risk of torture.
Luis Avarisdo Lopes is an internally displaced person (IDP) who had fled to Dili. The
night before his arrest paramilitaries burned down two houses in Metiaut, the district of
Dili where he was arrested. Paramilitary units had also been active in the area on Sunday
16 May when 10 houses were reportedly burnt down.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Since early April, paramilitary groups, supported by the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI),
have carried out arbitrary detentions, torture and unlawful killings during violent
attacks in several towns across East Timor, in an attempt to seek out supporters of
independence. At least 18, and possibly many more, people were killed in Liquisa on 6
April when paramilitary units - backed up by the TNI - attacked a church where around 2000
local residents had sought refuge from earlier paramilitary assaults.
Since 17 April at least 18 people and possibly many more are believed to have been
killed in Dili by paramilitary units. Despite the signing of a peace agreement on 21 April
between the TNI, the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), the paramilitaries
and the political groups that support integration, the situation in Dili remains tense.
According to reports, at least four independence supporters were killed between 9 and
10 May. There have also been reports of attacks on foreign journalists in Dili: supporters
of integration threw stones and shot at foreign journalists near the municipal market on
10 May. Supporters of independence and human rights monitors, many of whom remain in
hiding, are still at risk of arrest or violent attacks.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/faxes/express/airmail letters in Bahasa
Indonesia, English or your own language:
- urging the authorities to ensure that Luis Avarisdo Lopes is not tortured or
ill-treated;
- urging that he be handed over to the appropriate police authorities and either
charged with a recognizable criminal offense under existing laws or immediately released;
- urging that he is given immediate and continuing access to independent legal
advisors, his family and to a doctor if necessary.
APPEALS TO: (Time difference = GMT + 7 hrs / BST + 6 hrs)
COMMANDER RESORT MILITARY COMMAND (KOREM) 164/WIRADHARMA (covers East Timor)
Colonel Tono Suratman [Salutation: Dear Colonel Suratman] Markas KOREM 164/Wiradharma
Dili East Timor, Indonesia Fax/Tel: + 62 390 321 624 Telegram: Colonel Suratman, Dili,
East Timor
PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO: Embassy of Indonesia, 38 Grosvenor Square,
London W1X 9AD. Fax: 0171 491 4993
AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO THE FOLLOWING:
MILITARY COMMANDER REGION IX/UDAYANA (covers Bali, Lombok, Nusa Tenggara and East
Timor)
Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri Pangdam IX/Udayana Markas Besar KODAM IX/Udayana Denpasar Bali
Indonesia
President
Jusuf Habibie Presiden RI Istana Negara Jl. Veteran Jakarta Pusat Indonesia Fax: + 62
21 526 8726 / 21 380 5511 / 21 345 7782 (via ministry of Foreign Affairs)
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Please do not send appeals after 5 July 1999.
If you have any queries about this Urgent Action or about + + the UA scheme in
general, please contact: + + Ray Mitchell / Becky Hess + + Amnesty International UK
Section + + 99 - 119 Rosebery Avenue + + London EC1R 4RE email: ua@amnesty.org.uk
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