EAST TIMOR INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT CENTER
MEDIA RELEASE
13 November 1997
Threee [sic] young East Timorese women were killed and three others injured yesterday when Indonesian soldiers and police opened fire on a group of East Timorese who were laying wreaths and lighting candles in commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the Dili massacre.
The incident occurred on Wednesday morning in front of the house of Armindo Mariano, the chairman of the Legislative Assembly of East Timor. Armindo lives close to the Cathedral in Dili.
The soldiers and police arrived at the scene and without giving any warning whatsoever started shooting into the crowd using live ammuntion. The three East Timorese who were injured managed to escape and are presently in hiding. One of them, a male was shot in the leg.
This atrocious act is yet another example of the barbarity of the Indonesian armed forces, who kill without compunction and shoot innocent civilians without warning. Human rights organisations have reported a marked deterioration in the human rights situation since Bishop Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta won the Nobel Peace Prize in November 1996.
People all over the world mourned yesterday for the 271 people killed and 250 people missing in East Timor's capital Dili on November 12 1991, when Indonesian troops opened fire on unarmed men, women and children at Santa Cruz cemetery.
Yesterday's shooting was a painful reminder that the Indonesian troops remain intransigent and have yet to repent. How many more lives will it take before the international community applies enough pressure on the Indonesian regime to stop the killings and withdraw from East Timor.
The East Timor International Support Center calls for an investigation to begin immediately into yesterday's shootings.
For more information contact Maria Soares or Luisa Ferreira at +61 8 89484458 or +61 8 89855678 (ah)