[Kabar-indonesia] Fretilin Office Torched in Dili

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

Agence France-Presse
October 1, 2006

Fretilin Office Torched in Dili

Unidentified men set the Dili headquarters of East Timor's main political 
party 
Fretilin on fire early on Sunday but there were no casualties, a member of 
the 
fire brigade said.

The fire, the latest incident to hit the restive capital, only partially 
gutted the 
office building but spread to three nearby homes, sending plumes of thick 
black smoke into the air that could be seen from kilometres away.

"The fire started around 7:30 am (local time) and spread from the Fretilin 
office 
to three houses," a member of Dili's fire brigade, Juvencio Madeira, told AFP.

Mr Madeira said no one was injured in the fire. He declined further comment 
and police could not immediately be reached.

Fretilin is the ruling party in East Timor. 

Former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, who stepped down to take responsibility 
for a breakdown in law and order in the tiny state in May, is the 
secretary-general 
of the party.

Dr Alkatiri's replacement, Nobel peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta, does not 
belong to any political party.

Dili has been plagued by intermittent street violence since clashes in May 
left 
at least 21 people dead. 

The unrest flared following the sacking of some 600 soldiers who had deserted 
the army complaining of discrimination.

More than 3,000 international peacekeepers, deployed in East Timor to 
maintain security since then, have struggled to keep gangs apparently aligned along 
east 
and west divisions in the nation under control.

Tens of thousands of East Timorese remain in refugee camps, still too afraid 
to return home amid the uncertain security. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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