THE Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Bishop Carlos Belo, has called on Irish people to continue supporting the East Timorese people in their struggle against Indonesian domination.
On a short visit to Ireland, Bishop Belo yesterday briefed the President, Mrs Robinson, on the human rights situation in his native East Timor, which was overrun by Indonesian troops in 1975.
Earlier, he told a press conference that the East Timorese people did not enjoy the traditional freedoms enjoyed by European people.
"You have the freedom to speak out. We don't have this. If we do, we get arrested and beaten," he said.
However, Bishop Belo said a military solution to the Indonesian occupation was not an option. "It has to come from dialogue, from meetings, from sitting around the table," he said.
Stressing that the main reason for his visit was to thank Irish people, and in particular the East Timor Solidarity Campaign, the Catholic Church and Trocaire, for their support, he declined to answer questions about the political situation in East Timor.
Mr Eamon Meehan, overseas director of Trocaire, said the human rights situation was continually deteriorating, in spite of the attention which resulted when Bishop Belo and another East Timorese, Mr Jose Ramos Horta, won the Nobel prize last year.
This was partly because of violence linked to the Indonesian elections and partly because the Indonesian authorities were angry at the decision to award the prize to the two men.
Since East Timor was annexed in 1975, it is estimated that up to 200,000 people - one third of the population - have died under Indonesian rule. Successive UN resolutions have condemned the invasion, but the international community has done little to implement them.
