Indonesian police yesterday arrested the notorious pro-Jakarta militia leader, Mr Eurico Guterres, for suspected involvement in the sacking of a UN office in West Timor last month, police in Jakarta said.
The militias, who opposed last year's independence vote in East Timor, killed three aid workers during a mob attack on the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the West Timor border town of Atambua on September 6th. The killings sparked international condemnation of Jakarta, with the United States and the World Bank both warning that vital aid could be at risk if the Timorese militias are not brought under control.
"Eurico Guterres was arrested after there was enough evidence for him to become a suspect in the destruction and burning of the UNHCR office in Atambua," police Senior Supt Saleh Saaf was quoted as saying.
He did not say if Mr Guterres was also a suspect in the UN murders, but added that he could face more than five years in jail for incitement.
Mr Guterres is suspected of being involved in an attack on the house of a prominent pro-independence East Timorese, Manuel Carrascalao, in April 1999 in which several people were killed.
The militias rioted after the East Timor ballot on August 30th, 1999, killing hundreds of people.
Jakarta has named three generals among some two dozen suspects in the East Timor investigation, but not the then military commander, Wiranto.
East Timorese independence leader Mr Xanana Gusmao reacted with scepticism and caution to news of the Guterres arrest, saying: "I will wait and see."