H.E. Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie
President of the Republic of Indonesia
Office of the President
Jakarta
Indonesia

Vienna, 2 September 1999

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI) wishes to express its concern over the safety of journalists reporting on events in East Timor.

In the latest violence, pro-Indonesian militiamen armed with automatic weapons and machetes attacked a neighbourhood in Dili on Wednesday, 1 September, sending hundreds of residents – along with three dozen foreign journalists – scrambling for safety over the walls of the nearby United Nations compound. We are informed that BBC correspondent Jonathan Head was beaten by the militiamen and lucky to escape with his life after witnessing the killing of a Timorese man, who was hacked to death with machetes by militiamen.

We are also informed that an Australian reporter was threatened with a rifle, while a correspondent for The Washington Post was hit on the back with the blunt side of a machete before being able to climb over the UN wall to safety.

IPI, the global network of editors and media executives, is deeply concerned about the inability – or unwillingness – of the Indonesian police to contain militia violence in East Timor. You will recall that in a meeting in Jakarta on 13 May 1999 you told members of an IPI delegation that you would use your influence and authority to ensure the protection of journalists from violence and intimidation. We therefore urge Your Excellency to do everything in your power to ensure that those responsible for this latest incident are brought to justice and that foreign and local journalists working in East Timor are allowed to exercise their profession without fear of harassment.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director