Journalist Allan Nairn Freed - Now In Singapore

Wednesday, 22 September 1999, 10:31 am
Article: Alastair Thompson

The following is a selection of news items, and internet based media advisories on the status of American Jounalist Allan Nairn who has now been freed by Indonesian authorities and deported to Singapore.

Nairn was arrested in Dili over APEC weekend. He writes for www.thenation.com, a US Newspaper, and has written several accounts implicating Indonesian army chief General Wiranto and the US Government with the militia operation in East Timor.

1. MEDIA ADVISORY

Monday, September 20, 1999 at 7:15am EDT

Allan Nairn has arrived safety in Singapore.

2. TRANSCRIPT of AP REPORT ON NAIRN'S ARRIVAL IN SINGAPORE

Reporter Discusses Indonesia Rebels

By JAMIE TARABAY Associated Press Writer

SINGAPORE (AP) - Militiamen opposed to independence for East Timor operated freely from police and army bases in the territory, a U.S. journalist deported from Indonesia said Monday.

Allan Nairn, a free-lance reporter for the New York-based magazine The Nation, said that while he was detained at Koren military headquarters in Dili - East Timor's provincial capital - he saw groups of militiamen. One of the officers who questioned him said they were with the notorious Aitarak militia.

``You could see them going out on their motorbikes and their trucks fully armed to do their attacks around Dili and it was the same story at Polda, the police base in Dili,'' he said. ``You could see the uniformed Aitarak people wandering in and out of the intelligence and operations rooms, so clearly the militias were operating out of the army and police bases.''

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

The militiamen, backed by some members of the Indonesian army, unleashed a wave of killings, burnings and lootings in the half-island territory after East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia in a U.N.-sponsored referendum on Aug. 30.

One of the few Western journalists to remain in Dili in recent weeks, Nairn was arrested Sept. 14 in Dili, questioned by the military, and deported. He flew from Jakarta to Singapore on Monday. Nairn, 43, of New Jersey, said he hopes to return to East Timor as soon as possible.

TRANSCRIPT ENDS

3. MEDIA ADVISORY

Sunday, September 19, 1999 at 3:00pm EDT
Contact: Amy Goodman, (212) 397-0886
John M. Miller, (718) 596-7668, (516) 317-6257 (mobile)

Journalist Nairn to be Deported, Now in Bali

Journalist Allan Nairn, detained by Indonesia after reporting from East Timor, has been flown to Bali. He is currently at Bali's international airport and will spend the night in Immigration Detention/Quarantine. He has been told he will fly to Singapore on Monday morning.

Monday morning he will be put on Garuda Flight #405 to Jakarta (leaving Bali, 9:50 am; arriving Jakarta, 10:30 am). He will then take Garuda flight #826 (leaving Jakarta 11:45 am; arriving Singapore, 2:25 pm).

Nairn is eager to speak to the press about his experiences on his arrival.

Please note all times listed are Garuda's scheduled flight departures and arrivals.

ENDS

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

Contact Alastair Thompson

Top Scoops Headlines

COMMENT

Binoy Kampmark: Jesting On The Environment - Australian Mining Gets A Present

The Australia institute pointed out that the three mines, in the current state of operation, “were already so large that they could almost cover greater Sydney, or most Australian cities.” Research shows that when land sector emissions are removed from the modelling, Australia’s emissions are actually increasing.

Martin LeFevre - Meditations: The Antithesis Of What Jesus Taught And Lived

Rather than face their own failings, mourn their loss and question why things went wrong, they declared that he died for our sins and started a religion that has ended in hate, power and greed, the antithesis of what Jesus taught and lived.

Ramzy Baroud: The West Bank's Men Of The CIA - Why Is The PA Killing Palestinians In Jenin?

By attacking Jenin, the PA is helping the Israeli army in more than one way: it is killing and detaining anti-Israeli occupation Resistance fighters, consuming the energy and resources of the Resistance, allowing Israel to spare thousands of soldiers so that they may carry on with the genocide in Gaza, and more.

Binoy Kampmark: Concentrated Markets And Iceless Fokkers

Monopolies, duopolies, oligopolies, clot the marketplace and stifle any genuine notion of business engagement, let alone the provision of good, accountable service. This is a nation that specialises in a cohering nightmare of mergers, agglomeration, and amalgamation, consolidating the establishment rather than permitting fresh blood.

Binoy Kampmark: Catching Pegasus - Mercenary Spyware And The Liability Of The NSO Group

In this woefully unregulated industry, Israel’s poster child of spyware will most likely cough up and continue to make money from the pathologies of government insecurity. They will just have to be mindful of the US market from hereon in.

Ramzy Baroud: The World Owes Palestine This Much - Please Stop Censoring Palestinian Voices

In the specific case of social media censorship in Gaza, lives are literally being lost as a result of politically motivated decisions. The censorship takes a dark, deadly turn as it could make the difference between people dying under the rubble of their homes or receiving assistance.

Join Scoop Pro

Submit News

Become a Member