- Title: EAST TIMOR: EAST TIMOR HAS DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY AFTER A DAY OF RIOTING
- Date: 4th December 2002
- Summary: (W3) DILI, EAST TIMOR (DECEMBER 4, 2002) (REUTERS) SLV/SV PROTESTERS SMASHING WINDOWS, GLASS DOOR (4 SHOTS) SLV PROTESTERS RUNNING SLV/CU BURNED OUT CAR (2 SHOTS) SLV PROTESTERS BURNING FLYERS, CHAIRS, OBJECTS (2 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 19th December 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: DILI, EAST TIMOR
- Country: Timor-Leste
- Topics: Crime,General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVADPUGT07DPWZ0O9TGPDS7NDJJD
- Story Text: Newly independent East Timor has declared a state of emergency after a day of rioting in which up to five people were shot dead and the prime minister's house was burned down, witnesses said.
As many as five protesters were shot dead in the East Timor capital of Dili on Wednesday (December 4) when hundreds of students clashed with police near parliament.
U.N. peacekeepers surrounded the parliament building as crowds went on the rampage, torching a supermarket and vandalising other buildings in what Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta called a "very serious turn of events".
Civil unrest is not uncommon in the world's newest nation but Wednesday's clash was the most serious yet and a blow to efforts to establish a peaceful democracy.
The United Nations -- which plays an administrative role in the country -- said the country's leadership had called an urgent meeting to discuss the unrest.
The protest began on Tuesday after a student was arrested.
The reason for the arrest was not immediately clear.
Wednesday's clash broke out in front of police headquarters where dozens of police were on duty, and another witness said some began firing into the crowd. He said those who fired the shots were not in uniform.
The protest then moved to the parliament building two blocks away where shots were also fired.
Some politicians had agreed to meet the students outside the parliament early on Wednesday but did not show up, which Jones said may have added to the tension.
The United Nations ran East Timor for almost three years after the territory voted to break from 24 years of often harsh Indonesian rule in 1999.
East Timor is still struggling to get on its feet after the 1999 independence vote that triggered a bloody backlash by pro-Jakarta militia gangs, backed by elements of the Indonesian military. The United Nations estimates more than 1,000 people were killed. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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