Manuel de Sousa (militiaman)

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In 1998/99 Manuel de Sousa was in command of the 200-strong pro-Indonesian militia ( Wanra ) Besi Merah Putih BMP in what was then the Liquiçá district , East Timor , which was then occupied by Indonesia . The BMP is considered to be one of the worst groups during the violence in East Timor in 1999.

Life

Sousa was a member of the district parliament of Liquiçá for the Partai Demokrasi Indonesia PDI between 1992 and 1997.

In 1995 Sousa became a member of the Kopassus- funded Gadapaksi militia . In December 1998 he founded the BMP together with Liquiçás district chief Leonito Martins and with the help of the Indonesian military . The basis of the BMP was Maubara .

The BMP took action against supporters of East Timor's independence from Indonesia. On August 30, 1999, a referendum was held on this question , in which the majority of East Timorese spoke out in favor of independence despite attempts at intimidation by the militias. There was a final, severe outbreak of violence in which around 2,000 people were murdered, hundreds of women and girls were raped, three quarters of the population were displaced and 75% of the country's infrastructure was destroyed. Manuel de Sousa and the BMP are accused of various crimes against humanity . They are said to have participated in the Liquiçá church massacre on April 6, 1999. For this, Sousa was tried on November 21, 2001 before the Dili Court's Special Panel for Serious Crimes . Another indictment followed on February 18, 2002 for the attack on the house of the East Timorese politician Manuel Carrascalão on April 17, 1999 in Dili, in which Sousa is alleged to have been involved. A private Indonesian television station broadcast images showing Sousa directing the storming of the house. He is also said to have cited two attacks on the editorial staff of the Suara Timor Timur newspaper . He is also charged with participating in a plot to murder Mário Carrascalão in May 1999.

Together with Eurico Guterres , Sousa was appointed Head of the Civil Defense Forces ( Pam Swakrsa ) by East Timor's Police Chief in June 1999 . In the Indonesian national elections on June 7, 1999, Sousa ran for the Golkar , as did Eurico Guterres and João Avares .

On September 20, 1999, the first units of the international intervention force, INTERFET , landed , which, on behalf of the United Nations, took control of the country and was supposed to restore law and order. Sousa crossed the border into Atambua, Indonesia, in West Timor . From here he organized repeated attacks by the BMP on the area of ​​East Timor until he was arrested by the Indonesian military in August 2000. In September 2000, Sousa was supposed to be questioned as a witness before the Indonesian Attorney General, but could not be found.

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personal data
SURNAME Sousa, Manuel de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Head of Besi Merah Putih in East Timor
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century