NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      DILI, East Timor (CWNews.com) - Bishop Carlos Belo of Dili, East Timor called on Indonesia on Tuesday to remove all of its occupying troops if they cannot keep the peace without resorting to violence.

      The bishop spoke to reporters a day after a young man was shot and killed during a protest in Bacau. "There is no reason to shoot directly [at people]," he said. "My impression is if [the military] are not able to control the situation ... let them ask United Nations forces to control the situation here." He added, "If they are able, I ask them not to shoot people, the demonstrators. If they are not able, let other people come."

      The shootings, which also injured five people, came as Timorese youth protested in front of the cathedral in Bacau as Bishop Basilio dos Nasciemento of Bacau met with ambassadors from Britain, Austria, and the Netherlands. Protesters demanding independence from Indonesia attacked a van carrying plainclothes security forces accompanying the diplomats, and the soldiers opened fire.

      Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, invaded mainly Catholic East Timor in 1975 and annexed the former Portugese colony the following year in a move not recognized by the United Nations.