World Notes Indonesia

Security forces have killed thousands of independence fighters in East Timor since 1976, when Indonesia annexed the former Portuguese territory, but there was no significant outcry from world opinion. This time it may be different.

Indonesian troops opened fire two weeks ago on a crowd of 1,000 marching in memory of a militant student at a cemetery in Dili, the capital of the province. According to various estimates, the soldiers' weapons killed 19 to 200 people.

Two American journalists witnessed the attack and, though they were beaten, escaped to report it. Outrage followed swiftly last week. The European Parliament called for an arms embargo on Indonesia. The Netherlands, which heads an aid consortium for Indonesia, halted new assistance, and there were street demonstrations in Portugal.