When the Indonesian government announced in January that it would consider cutting East Timor loose if people there refused its autonomy proposal, reports started surfacing that tensions between pro-Indonesia and pro-independence East Timorese had reached a critical point. Reuters wrote (3/10/99): "President B.J. Habibie...startled the world by suggesting independence as a 'second option' if autonomy were rejected, touching off fighting between pro- and anti-independence Timorese factions." The Associated Press reported soon after Habibie's announcement (2/16/99) that "pro-Indonesian activists have warned of the possibility of civil war among rival East Timorese factions if Indonesia withdraws troops from the territory." The wire [...]