/** reg.easttimor: 3018.0 **/
** Topic: Annan accuses Indon army of abetting in E.Timor atrocities **
** Written 4:45 PM Sep 19, 1999 by Joyo@aol.com in cdp:reg.easttimor **
Subject: Annan accuses Indon army of abetting in E.Timor atrocities
Annan accuses Indonesian army of abetting in Eeast Timor atrocities
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 (AFP) - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Sunday accused the Indonesian army of cooperating with local East Timor militias committing atrocities against the territory's people.
"It looks as if the military, the military in East Timor, the Indonesian military, cooperated or acquiesced or ignored what was going on in East Timor," Annan stated on CNN's Late Edition program.
"How far up in the military chain this goes, I do not know, but it is clear that the military on the ground did cooperate," he said.
"Those responsible for these atrocities must be made to account," he continued, adding that the United Nations would set up a commission of inquiry to look into the atrocities and hold those responsible accountable.
"No one expected the kind of carnage and the chaos that was created immediately after the results of ballot were announced," said Annan of the August 30 vote when the territory voted for independence from Jakarta.
Indonesia forcibly annexed the former Portuguese colony in 1976, a move never recognized by the United Nations.
Annan described himself as "cautiously optimistic" on the Australian-led multinational peacekeeping force's ability to restore peace to the shattered territory when it arrivess Monday.
"The Australians and the Indonesians have had very good discussions about cooperation between their two militaries ... And I think in the last couple of days, the Indonesian military seem to have been able to bring the situation under control," he noted.
"I hope the spirit of cooperation and their determination to control the ground and the militia, will help the force."
Otherwise, Annan said, the 7,000-strong multinational force had the "capacity to defend its mandate and itself."
** End of text from cdp:reg.easttimor **