Leading Article: The peak of horror in Timor is still to come

WATCHING THE scenes from Dili in recent days, it might have seemed that the climax of horror has already been reached. In reality, things look set to get much worse. The United Nations is preparing to pull out of the territory, with a grand Pontius Pilate-style washing of hands. When that happens, a bloodbath on a grand scale is in prospect. Around 200,000 died in the wake of the Indonesian invasion and annexation of East Timor 24 years ago. In short, it is difficult to overstate the reasons for pessimism about East Timor's immediate future.

The slaughter will remain almost invisible to the rest of the world. Television crews and reporters from the international news agencies, not easily fazed, have already evacuated Dili. As Richard Lloyd Parry makes clear in his reports from the city today, the situation is getting worse by the hour. Yesterday, militias stormed and torched the house of the Nobel prizewinner Bishop Carlos Belo. The compound of the Red Cross was also attacked; the fate of the thousands who had taken refuge there is unclear.

When the United Nations pulls its last staffers out of Dili, it will represent a treacherous abandonment for the Timorese people. Before last week's referendum on independence, the United Nations promised them that the UN mission would stay behind after the vote "to make your choice a reality". In other words: "People of East Timor, have no fear. We will protect you."

What a terrible lie that has now proved to be. Once the UN have pulled out, the murderous militias will be able to roam freely. The bloodshed that we have seen so far may come to be seen as a mere warm-up, a lethal amuse-gueule.

The murders in East Timor are not just the work of mindless mobs. These are political killings, and must be acknowledged as such. If the Indonesian government wished to stop the massacres, it could do so at any time. Equally, as the bloodshed continues to worsen, the blame must be laid fair and square at the door of the regime. The television cameras which can bring the drama into our living rooms may be gone, but this is a nightmare that cannot be ignored.