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E Timor PM Accuses Australian Journalist Of Arson,Rioting
East Timorâs Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri on Wednesday accused a detained Australian journalist of inciting angry mobs to burn down his house during anti-government riots in 2002. Julian King, 43, who was arrested last Thursday, denied the allegations and said he was "being framed," according to his lawyer, Pedro de Oliveira. King will face a preliminary court hearing next week, court officials said. Police said they were questioning him for alleged subversion and illegal possession of ammunition. Alkatiri accused King of taking part in riots that rocked the East Timorese capital in December 2002. Ten buildings were ransacked and torched by the mobs, including Alkatiriâs home. The violence was the worst since Indonesian troops and their militia proxies withdrew in 1999, destroying as much of the country as they left. "Julian King is a provocateur. He was one of the first to enter my house during the rioting and urged the mobs to burn it down," Alkatiri told The Associated Press. "He has continuously abused our tolerance of journalists and has an agenda to subvert the government," Alkatiri said. King, a Sydney native and former correspondent with the Reuters news agency who now works regularly for Australian television, has lived in the country for four years. Oliveira said King was "being framed by authorities because of his highly critical stance of government policies. He is innocent." The arrest came just a week after the Paris-based group Reporters without Borders lauded the fledgling nation for having one of Asiaâs freest media. Attacks on journalists are "extremely rare" in the former Indonesian province, and the countryâs press legislation is "among the most liberal in Asia," the group said last week. Posted by: TS(vice girl) 2004-05-12 |
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