August 26, 1999
Web posted at: 5:38 a.m. EDT (0938 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

DILI, East Timor (CNN) -- At least three people were killed as violence erupted after a rally in the East Timor capital on Thursday, the second to last day of campaigning for Monday's ballot on independence.

United Nations officials said one person died after being stabbed and one after being shot. A third body was seen lying in a pool of blood in a street by journalists.

In addition, at least three houses were destroyed, witnesses said.

The incidents occurred as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Stanley Roth, traveling in Australia, said the United States had delivered a warning to both the Indonesian government, which rules East Timor, and to militia leaders in the province itself.

Roth urged Jakarta and the East Timorese militia not to predict violence during the August 30 independence ballot, saying that violence could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Thursday's violence flared after a convoy of Jakarta supporters stoned a picture of jailed independence leader Xanana Gusmao in Dili's Pekora district.

Independence supporters threw rocks at a truck, witnesses said. Militiamen reportedly responded by burning a kiosk and wrecking the three houses.

A man who had been stabbed was rushed for treatment. It was unclear whether he would survive.

Independence supporters armed with rocks and iron bars were still in the area a short time later, amid tension.

Witnesses said some 8,000 people attended the rally, in which a convoy with Indonesian flags and pro-autonomy T-shirts drove through the city.

East Timorese vote Monday

"The United States has been distressed by many predictions of violence both from the Indonesian govermment but also from some of the militia leaders in East Timor," Roth told the National Press Club in Canberra.

"We have warned of the danger of the self-fulfilling prophecy -- if you create the expectation that there will be violence after the referendum, the chances of violence happening are much greater."

Worsening violence in East Timor has plagued preparations for the delayed U.N.-sponsored ballot and there are fears that the result will be met with violent reactions from the losing side.

On Monday, East Timorese will choose independence or special autonomy within Indonesia after 23 years of often brutal rule.

While a continued international presence was crucial in East Timor, it was ultimately up to Indonesia to guarantee security before and after the ballot, Roth said. He was in Canberra to discuss East Timor with Australian government officials.

Roth said he was disappointed about the resurgence in violence in the former Portuguese colony in recent days and called for reconciliation among the pro-indenpedence and pro-integrationist groups.

"There needs to be a genuine reconciliation process between the different parties on East Timor itself," he said.

Roth declined to elaborate further on U.S. contingency plans for events after the ballot, saying only that it depended on the outcome.

Australian Defense Minister John Moore said on Thursday the defence force was preparing to evacuate Australians from East Timor in case violence broke out after the vote.

"The government is concerned about the possibility of violence directed at Australians and we continue to urge restraint of all parties," Moore told parliament.

More than 430,000 East Timorese in the province and thousands more around the world will vote on autonomy.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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