LISBON ASIA: Amnesty International said Nov.9 that Indonesia has arrested and tortured hundreds of suspected supporters of independence for East Timor in advance of the first anniversary of a massacre of protesters by Indonesian troops
On November 12 last year Indonesian woops fired on a crowd of anti-Indonesian demonstrators al a cemetery in Dili the East Timor capital provoking an international outcry Witnesses said as many as 180 people were killed by automatic gunfire; an official Indonesian report said 50 had died and 66 others had “disappeared”
“In the weeks prior to the anniversary of the massacre the authorities arrested hundreds of suspected supporters of East Timor’s independence to prevent them from publicly and peacefully expressing their political views.” Amnesty said in a statement made available in Lisbon.
The London-based human rights group said Indonesia has failed to honor U.N. resolutions and recommendations on the former Portuguese colony “Torture and ill-treatment of political detainees continues to be both common and routine” Amnesty said.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 20, 1992
