On 12 November 1991, Indonesian soldiers opened fire on a peaceful procession at the Santa Cruz Cemetery in Dili. As many as 270 were believed to have been killed and up to 200 are still missing. Most were shot while attempting to flee and others were beaten and stabbed.

Despite evidence to the contrary, the Indonesian government continues to claim that the response by the army to the peaceful demonstrators at Santa Cruz was an aberration and that the government has satisfactorily investigated the killings and "disappearances".

In a report released in 1994, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, found that members of ABRI were responsible for killings in the massacre and that the response was "a planned military operation designed to deal with a public expression of political dissent in a way not in accordance with international human rights standards".

The report concluded that the "conditions that allowed the Santa Cruz killings to occur are still present. In particular, the members of the security forces responsible for the abuses have not been held accountable and continue to enjoy virtual impunity".

The arrest of the Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao on 20 November 1991 in Dili, showed ABRIs willingness to strengthen the persecutions and arrests even more.

Positive news came in when on 11 October 1996 the Nobel Price for Peace was conferred to Jose Ramos Horta, Gusmao's outside representative and to the East Timor bishop, Ximenes Belo.

"However, the human rights situation in East Timor continues to worsen," concludes the East Timor Human Rights Centre (ETHRC) established in 1995 in Melbourne, Australia.

Contact:
East Timor Human Rights Centre
PO Box 1413, Collingwood VIC 3066, Melbourne, Australia
email: etchrmel@peg.apc.org