EAST TIMOR: UN PEACEKEEPERS CONTINUE TO ARRIVE (2)

(21 Sep 1999) English/Nat
Tanks, trucks and armoured personnel carriers rumbled off warships in Dili on Tuesday as international forces continued to take control of East Timor.
Australian soldiers took over warehouses pillaged by militia and their Indonesian army backers, while other troops arrested gang members, stripping them of their weapons.
Meanwhile, hundreds of refugees have started to stream out of the hills where they sought refuge at the height of the wave of violence.
They returned to watch the U-N-mandated force take control of the charred capital after the militias' three-week campaign of terror.
In Dare, site of a large refugee camp six miles south of Dili, people burst into tears of joy as international soldiers in full battle gear and a group of United Nations officials drove up in a convoy of U-N vehicles.
Between 190-thousand to 300-thousand people fled into hiding in the mountains and other areas during the violence, in addition to 141-thousand who fled to Indonesian- controlled West Timor, according to a report by the United Nations Children's Fund.
Australian troops used landing craft to unload trucks, jeeps, bulldozers and other heavy equipment from landing craft.
Warehouses were being stocked with food, medicine and other supplies.
At the airport, the airlift continued through the night.
The operation's commanders said they expected to have some 2,800 troops
on the ground by late Tuesday.
About 100 youths, who had just returned from the mountains, laughed, clapped and waved to the peacekeepers.
As an Australian navy catamaran pulled into port, the youths broke into a
traditional East Timorese dance of welcome.
As the peacekeeping force secures East Timor, men, women and children are being stopped, and their bags and luggage searched.
But it seems the locals aren't too worried by the tactics, many of them expressing their happiness that the peacekeepers have finally arrived.
SOUNDBITE: (Indonesian)
"I am really happy about the coming of the peacekeeping forces and I hope East Timor will be safe"
SUPER CAPTION: Adelina Gusmao
SOUNDBITE: (Indonesian)
"We are not afraid anymore. When we saw the planes we were happy. We had a party last night in the mountains"
SUPER CAPTION: Garcito Ximenis
Multinational troops stepped up the pressure on remaining gang members in and around Dili.
Outside the harbor area, Australian troops conducted sweeps of burned-out buildings.
Many militiamen fled ahead of the peacekeepers' deployment.
But the real test for the international force - due to reach 7,500 troops - will come when it spreads into remote areas to protect residents from the militia's fury.
Many East Timorese say the arrival of the international soldiers has scared the militia men off and they now feel safe again.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Militia men go away, go away, not coming to kill him, kill the population. It's ok."
SUPERCAPTION: Vox pop
Most Indonesian troops are due to leave in the next several days, leaving behind a token force that has been ordered to cooperate with the peacekeepers.
With 24 years of iron-fisted Indonesian rule ending, Indonesian President B.J. Habibie urged lawmakers in Jakarta on Tuesday to accept East Timor's overwhelming vote for independence in an August 30 referendum.
He said acceptance would help restore the country's international image.
Members of Indonesia's highest legislative body must still approve the independence vote in a session expected by November.
Opponents have said the presence of peacekeepers violates national
sovereignty.

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