Timor appeals to US

BY MANDY WU
IN THE WEEK THAT sees their Catholic leader nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace, East Timorese have sought to focus President Clinton's attention on their campaign against Indonesian occupation of East Timor.
A Timorese youth was killed as crowds of East Timorese staged a demonstration outside the US embassy in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on the eve of the one-day AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation summit (APEC) in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
On the eve of the summit, which took place on Monday, a Timorese youth was killed as Timorese crowds demonstrated outside the US embassy in Jakarta against the Indonesian government and in support of 29 Timorese men who have been inside the embassy since Saturday morning.
Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo of East Timor, who has been active in the Church-led movement against Indonesian occupation, was nominated for the Nobel prize by Nobel laureate and Northern Ireland human rights actizist, Mairead Maguire.
The Bishop's nomination, added to fearless Timoresc defiance in front of thousands of visiting foreign journalists, is turning the summit into a major public relations debacle for the Indonesian regime of General Suharto.
The international community, including the United States and the United Nations, recognises that East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was illegally annexed by Indonesia in 1976.