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Former E. Timor refugees attack govt office and foreign tourists
Protesters continued occupying a legislative building in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday, awaiting a central government response on the question of aid disbursement for former East Timorese refugees
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Protesters continued occupying a legislative building in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday, awaiting a central government response on the question of aid disbursement for former East Timorese refugees.
The occupation of the Belu legislative council's building since Tuesday after a series of protests on Monday has practically halted all activities as protesters occupied most rooms and had erected makeshift tents enabling them to cook at the building compound.
Before occupying the building, thousands of the protesters attacked the Belu social service office, damaging some of its facilities.
The protesters threw stones at the windows and the office's roof amid a large number of security officers, who did nothing to stop them.
"I don't know why the protesters damaged the office," head of the East Nusa Tenggara social service office Frans Salem said in Kupang.
Witnesses said protesters tried to set the office on fire but their act was foiled by security officers. "They attacked the office all of the sudden. They damaged windows, doors and office equipment. We preferred to run away to save ourselves," one of the office's employees who asked for anonymity said.
Three tourists from El Salvador, identified as Edgard, Edward and Francisco, nearly fell victims to the brutality of the protest when they were mistakenly identified as Portuguese and Australians.
The former East Timorese refugees, who wanted Indonesian citizenship following the United Nations-sponsored referendum that led to Timor Leste's independence in 1999, blamed Australia and Portugal for fully supporting the independence movement.
The three tourists were evacuated by members of the police's mobile brigade, which had been assigned to back-up security operations there.
The tourists told reporters they were suddenly surrounded by the protesters after visiting an Internet cafe located next to the council's building. "The protesters suddenly chased us when we were watching the protest," Edward said.
In their protest the former refugees demanded the central government explain why assistance had failed to reach them.
They have demanded that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono respond to their complaint, which was faxed to the State Palace in Jakarta.
"We will stay at the council building until the government responds as to when the assistance for the former refugees will be disbursed," Matheus BC Guedes, secretary-general of the Humanitarian Forum for Indonesian Citizens, said by mobile phone.
