Karen Polglaze, Jakarta – East Timorese independence advocate and Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta today rejected accusations by the Indonesian military that he was linked to a clandestine group accused of making bombs.

Mr Ramos Horta also called on the Austrian embassy to resist Indonesia's pressure to surrender asylum-seekers who have taken refuge in the embassy here.

"These asylum-seekers are not terrorists as alleged by the Indonesian authorities," Mr Ramos Horta said in a statemet.

"Jakarta cannot document any murder of Indonesian civilians by the east Timorese resistance in the 22 years of Indonesian occupation."

Mr Ramos Horta said he had repeatedly called on the East Timorese resistance movement not to engage in violence. "In particular, I have urged the armed resistance in East Timor never to initiate any action that might harm civilians, be they East Timorese or Indonesian transmigrants living in the territory," he said.

Mr Ramos Horta described the alleged bomb-makers as idealistic kids who naively believed a few amateurish and home-made bombs could stop the arsenal Indonesia deployed in East Timor.