East Timorese killed in election violence

June 4, 1997
Issue 

East Timorese killed in election violence

By James Balowski

Indonesian authorities have confirmed that at least 13 East Timorese were killed in the lead-up to voting in the Indonesian general elections on May 29.

Dili police chief, Colonel Yusuf Muharam, said that four were shot dead by police in the East Timor capital Dili after they burned down some polling booths. Two more were shot dead in Bacau, and seven were killed and two others seriously wounded in Los Palos. He described the victims as "rebels" opposed to integration with Indonesia. He also confirmed that a soldier guarding a polling booth in the Ermera district about 45 kilometres south-west of Dili was shot dead on May 29.

Residents in the Ermera district reported a number of other attempts to destroy polling stations. A Baucau resident told reporters, "There have been a lot of leaflets circulating in East Timor that the rebels would try to disrupt the elections".

Church sources say that two police officers were killed and seven others wounded on May 27. They said that 18 police in two trucks — there to maintain security during the elections — were ambushed in the Lega district 160 kilometres east of Dili. Some 130,000 police and soldiers were deployed throughout Indonesia to provide security during the elections.

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