Indonesia urged to tackle rebels

Bangkok - Indonesia yesterday came under international pressure to disband militia groups operating inside its border with East…

Bangkok - Indonesia yesterday came under international pressure to disband militia groups operating inside its border with East Timor following the shooting and mutilation of a New Zealand peacekeeper by an armed gang.

Australia and New Zealand led nations from both Asia and the West at a security meeting in Bangkok in demanding that Indonesia live up to its promise to take decisive action to eliminate the militia scourge.

The killing and mutilation of Pte Leonard Manning put East Timor on the agenda of the forum involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and key dialogue partners including the US, Japan, China and Russia.

A militia gang believed to operate from within one of the squalid refugee camps inside Indonesian West Timor is suspected of carrying out the attack.