FOUR East Timorese who took part in a pro-integration rally last month claim senior intelligence officers coerced them into joining the march.
They claim security officials wrote the text of the rally's petition and banners.
The four, now in hiding in Jakarta, said they were offered money and benefits if they took part in the march.
Armed forces spokesman General Suwarno was unavailable for comment yesterday. The Foreign Affairs Ministry refused to comment.
The four were among an estimated 160 people in Jakarta who marched on Parliament on November 20 to support Indonesia's 1976 annexation of the former Portuguese colony.
Such protests have become common recently. Last week pro-integrationists rallied outside the Russian and Dutch embassies in response to a sit-in by supporters of East Timorese independence. And on Tuesday, more than 100 climbed the fence of the Australian Embassy to show support for Indonesia's integration of the territory.
The four East Timorese claim the first they heard of the November rally was a telephone call from Military Secret Intelligence ordering them to join a training exercise for four days.
