Fed: Indon forces over react by firing over civilians: Cosgrove

AAP General News (Australia)
02-20-2000
Fed: Indon forces over react by firing over civilians: Cosgrove

CANBERRA, Feb 20 AAP - Indonesian forces over-reacted by firing into the air to calm
a dispute between civilians on the Timor border yesterday, Interfet head Major-General
Peter Cosgrove said today.

Indonesian TNI troops on the sensitive Timor border opened fire as a reunion of families
split by conflict threatened to degenerate into violence.

About 15,000 people had gathered for a United Nations-sponsored event to bring refugees
in West Timor together with relatives in East Timor.

TNI soldiers let off 200 rounds of automatic fire, shooting into the air at the main
border crossing near the town of Batugade.

General Cosgrove said the incident was serious because of the size of the crowd.

"A small incident snowballed a bit and the reaction by the TNI troops on their side
of the border was to fire a very large number of shots in the air," he told the Nine Network.

"Although I'm happy they were there to at least intervene in some way the number of
shots seemed to me to be somewhat of an over-reaction or at least not designed to defuse
tensions but rather to frighten and it could have caused a stampede."

He said a West Timorese man was upsetting the East Timorese crowd who grabbed him.

Interfet troops stepped in to release him.

"He scampered back to the western side whereupon an exchange of stone-throwing took
place between crowds on each side. TNI at that point became alarmed and that's when the
shots were fired," General Cosgrove said.

"Interfet forces were on the scene but fired no shots, in fact did their best to calm
things down, certainly on the East Timor side."

General Cosgrove said he would be raising the issue with his TNI counterpart.

He said he would not characterise tensions as an undeclared border war as Interfet
had taken great steps in building confidence.

"We don't take things for granted there and we remain very vigilant and alert to whatever's
going on, so I'd like it to be better, but it is far better than it was in the early days,"

General Cosgrove said.

Jakarta has given more than 100,000 refugees in West Timor until March 31 to decide
whether to remain in Indonesia or return to their devastated homeland, now administered
by the UN.

AAP fh/arb/de

KEYWORD: TIMOR INDON COSGROVE

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