INDONESIA: EAST TIMOR: UNREST

(17 Apr 1999) English/Nat

Hundreds of anti-independence militiamen fired homemade guns and burned houses and cars on Saturday after thousands rallied in East Timor's capital to demonstrate their loyalty to Indonesia.

Some fired shots and pelted rocks at the home of prominent pro-independence politician Manuel Carrascalao, the brother of a former East Timor governor.

The number of people injured in Saturday's violence was not immediately known.

A thousands-strong anti-independence rally in the East Timor capital of Dili turned nasty on Saturday when hundreds of militiamen randomly opened fire and burned houses.

Amongst the houses and buildings attacked was the home of prominent pro-independence politician Manuel Carrascalao.

Dozens of people, many of them displaced villagers who had fled earlier communal violence, had been sheltering in the house. They ran away when the gang smashed doors and windows.

At least two nearby houses were set afire.

Witnesses said the men had been driving around the streets of Dili in more than 80 trucks.

They went on a rampage after they heard gunshots in the eastern outskirts of the town. It was not immediately clear who fired the initial shots.

Witnesses said some of the militiamen, wrongly fearing an attack by rival pro-independence fighters, returned fire at random with crudely made guns they had been carrying.

Saturday's violence came despite a call for calm by anti-independence militia group Aitarak's commander, Joao da Silva, after weeks of bloodshed from fighting among various pro and anti-independence groups as well as the Indonesian military.

Da Silva said his men would fight if necessary to remain part of Indonesia, which invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it in 1976.

The United Nations plans to hold a vote in July to determine whether the people of East Timor want autonomy within the Indonesian state or full independence.

The issue has polarized East Timor's 800-thousand people. Many fear rising violence could stop the ballot.

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