There is serious concern for the safety of seven young East Timorese who entered the embassies of Finland and Sweden in Jakarta on 23 June 1993 to seek political asylum. Four of the seven, Mateus Brito Ximenes, Clementino Faria Oliveira, Oscar Goncalves da Silva and Ventura Valentim de Conceicao, left the Finnish Embassy on 24 June after receiving assurances that they would not be arrested. The others, Florencio Anunciacao Fernandes, Profirio da Costa Oliveira and Jose Manuel de Oliveira Sousa left the Swedish Embassy on 2 July. In view of past actions taken against these men, including detention, torture and harassment, and recent statements made by the military commander of East Timor, the Indonesian authorities’ guarantees of their safety cannot be accepted as genuine
