Amid Jeers, W. Timor Official Tours East
DILI, East Timor — A crowd of onlookers Friday jeered and chased a bus carrying the first pro-Indonesian militia leader to return to East Timor since violence shattered the territory six months ago.
Jaunico Belo, who commanded militias in eastern East Timor, toured parts of the territory’s capital, Dili, while under heavy military escort.
“We brought him here from West Timor so he could see what’s going on,†U.N. spokeswoman Barbara Reis said. “We hope he will tell others about the conditions here and speed up the repatriation of the refugees.â€
About 130,000 East Timorese are still sheltering in squalid camps in West Timor, a province of Indonesia, and U.N. officials say many are not returning home because of fears of a lack of security and food.
Belo has been implicated in the murder and destruction that gripped East Timor last year after the territory’s overwhelming vote for independence from Indonesia in a U.N.-sponsored ballot. But U.N. officials have said they will not arrest him during this visit.
“We have guaranteed his safety now,†Reis said. “But he has no general amnesty.â€
Belo arrived Thursday and met with U.N. administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello and East Timorese independence leader Jose Alexandre “Xanana†Gusmao.
De Mello sent Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid a letter this week complaining about militia raids into East Timor, the government in Jakarta reported Friday.
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