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Militia threaten to kill Australians

Source
Agence France Presse - February 25, 1999 (abridged)

Jakarta – Two pro-Indonesian East Timorese militia leaders Thursday sent a blunt warning to Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer threatening the lives of Australian diplomats and journalists.

"It is better to sacrifice an Australian diplomat or journalist to save the lives of 850,000 East Timorese," said the warning, faxed to news agencies including AFP here during a visit by Downer.

Downer told Australian journalists later that "it was not the most pleasant letter I have received," adding that he would take the matter up with Indonesian authorities before his departure early Friday.

"We are not going to leap and dance with every threat made to us," he said, adding that he had met here earlier Thursday with pro-Indonesian representatives, some of whom had been "very aggressive."

"I don't think they were very happy with my explanation" that at the end of the day they would have to accept the opinion of the majority of the East Timorese people, he said.

The one-page faxed warning was signed by Cancio Lopes de Carvalho and Eurico Guterres, who identified themselves respectively as the commanders of the Mahidi and the Aitarak paramilitary groups.

They called East Timor "a victim of Australia's vendetta against Indonesia, a victim of the dirty game by Australian myopic and deceitful journalists."

"Therefore the 13,000 to 15,000 pro-integration paramilitary group is willingly looking forward to meeting and facing any Australian hypocrites, deceivers and political mercenaries including the pro-independence Australian peace-keeping force – DAY and NIGHT," it said.

The fax, though proclaiming that it was from "the hills of East Timor," was sent from a hotel in Jakarta. A staff member at the hotel said the two were currently meeting with Indonesian President B.J. Habibie.

Presidential palace sources said they understood that Habibie, who met for an hour with Downer earlier in the day, was scheduled to meet some pro-integrationist figures at his home later Thursday night. But that could not be officially confirmed.

Australian journalists have been quietly warned to expect hostility from pro-integrationist groups in East Timor, and on Wednesday two Portuguese journalists visiting Dili were beaten up and threatened at gun point by pro-integrationists.

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