DILI, East Timor (CWNews.com) - Bishop Carlos Belo of Dili led an emotional memorial service and Mass on Thursday to commemorate East Timorese who were allegedly killed by anti-independence militias and Indonesian soldiers following an independence vote in August.
Bishop Belo, in his homily, called for an international tribunal to investigate the massacres which he said had left up to 1,000 people dead in the town of Suai alone. The bodies of several dozen victims have already been uncovered at a church in Suai, including several priests and nuns. Church workers were a particular target of anti-independence groups because of the Church's powerful role in the life of most East Timorese.
Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation in the world, invaded mainly Catholic East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following year in a move not recognized by the United Nations. In August, the region held a Jakarta-proposed referendum to allow Timorese to choose either autonomy within Indonesia or full independence. After the pro-independence results were revealed, pro-Indonesia militias, armed and backed by Indonesia's military, went on a rampage, killing hundreds and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the former Portuguese colony.
Bishop Belo, co-winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, said justice demanded that Indonesian generals and their militia allies be held responsible. "They must go before a tribunal because the crimes that they committed are not acceptable. Justice has not been done," he said.
CWN - Catholic World News