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| VIEWS FROM ASIA | |
 September 20, 1999 
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After this background report, three Asian journalists discuss their takes on the violence in East Timor and the new U.N. peacekeeping force sent to end it. |
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| A peaceful arrival? | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MAJ. GENERAL PETER COSGROVE: This to me bodes well for the
continued peaceful arrival of the force, and with this sort of cooperation,
we'll be able to get out and about and to start expanding our area of
operations in the near future.
The Australian marines have quickly secured the port here, and the militia, who had been in control, have faded away. But the exodus continues, the families of soldiers and pro-Jakarta supporters scrambling to leave. CAPTAIN DAVID RAMSEY: They want to get out of here until the place settles down, and while it does seem much calmer today, they'd still rather they left the area to somewhere close where they can come back once the situation has settled down and they can return to their houses. |
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| The destruction continues | ||||||||||||||||||||
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In spite of that, Ian Martin, the head of the U.N. mission, returned here today determined to show that UNIMET can quickly continue its work implementing the overwhelming vote for independence. His own compound, so recently a refuge for thousands of people escaping the violence, looks a mess, but it is mostly superficial.
IAN WILLIAMS: There was a wave from a passing militiaman tonight as we filmed on an empty Dili street. A fortnight ago they were set on driving us all out of town. Most of those who voted in East Timor's referendum have fled. The U.N. said today that half a million people have had their lives turned upside down. |
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IAN
WILLIAMS: Shortly after dawn this morning, the first peacekeepers arrived
in Dili. They trooped off a succession of transport aircraft, heavily
armed members of Australia's special forces. 
The
aim was to have two and a half thousand troops in Dili by the end of
the day. They came prepared to fight, but the reception so far has been
cordial. Immediately, joint patrols were set up with the Indonesian
army. 
IAN
WILLIAMS: We followed the first wave of troops into town, or what's
left of it. In the two weeks since we were evacuated from here, the
city's been reduced to ashes. There's hardly a building not burned and
looted. Groups of desperate refugees camp out along the roadside. They
live in squalor in Dili's squares. These are the last remnants of a
population that's largely fled to the hills, or been forced out to West
Timor. 
One
of the peacekeepers' first targets has been the port, scene of widespread
militia intimidation of refugees in recent days. Two members of a pro-Jakarta
gang were quickly disarmed without resistance. There were other familiar
faces, but their guns and machetes were gone and all they did was look
on in the background under the watchful eye of the Australians. 
IAN
WILLIAMS: But houses continue to be burned. While the Australians were
securing the port and airport, these homes were set ablaze in the hills
above Dili, while in the town center, the smoking embers of a shop and
a bank recently put to the torch. The militias may have been keeping
a low profile today, but their handiwork is continuing. 
IAN
MARTIN: The buildings are still intact and most of our equipment is
still in them and intact, so with a little bit of help we should be
able to get this place up and running quite quickly. 
