Pope Urges Indonesia to Respect Rights in E. Timor : Religion: In a disputed island territory, the pontiff prays for reconciliation.

Pope John Paul II, praying for reconciliation at a sun-baked killing field where political prisoners once were slaughtered, urged the Indonesian government Thursday to respect human rights here in the disputed island territory of East Timor.

“Respect for the rights which render life more human must be firmly ensured: the rights of individuals and the rights of families,” the Pope asserted in the toughest speech of his Asian tour. “Your land is much in need of Christian healing and reconciliation.”

As a papal Mass for about 100,000 was ending outside this capital of a threadbare Portuguese colonial outpost that Indonesia invaded and annexed in 1976, about 20 youths demanding independence scuffled with baton-wielding police. The Pope was not endangered.

The youths unfurled separatist banners and called for independence, but security guards forced them back and plainclothesmen seized the banners.

Four women were reportedly trampled and treated for minor injuries. Military officials said there were no arrests.

According to local priests, the field was once used as an Indonesian military detention and interrogation center. Amnesty International, the London-based human rights organization, estimates that 200,000 people were killed after the Indonesian invasion, and many of them are believed to have been killed here.

“The papal Mass will sanctify this ground,” Bishop Carlos Velo of East Timor told reporters.

The Pope insisted that his visit was pastoral, but his stop in East Timor pleased Indonesia. The controlled press said it implied a recognition of Indonesian sovereignty.

Portugal has refused to recognize Indonesia’s position in East Timor and has demanded that Indonesia withdraw. The Vatican, along with the European Community and the United Nations, has also refused to accept formally Indonesian administration. The United States has accepted it.

As the Pope alighted from an Indonesian air force plane on the sixth day of his Asian tour, he was greeted by a billboard with the words, “Welcome, Pope John Paul, to East Timor, Indonesia’s 27th Province.”

He blessed the new Catholic cathedral in Dili built by the Indonesian government. As he did so, an unsigned broadsheet was circulated among the reporters accompanying him. It said in Portuguese: “The Indonesians are trying to hoodwink the world about true conditions in East Timor. Armed resistance continues in the countryside with courage and conviction. Passive resistance in areas controlled by Indonesia is also strong, although the secret police suffocate dissent by trampling human rights.”

Turnout for the Mass was only a fraction of what had been predicted.

“There are checkpoints every 20 kilometers,” a priest told reporters. “Soldiers ask for documents many people do not have. Other villagers have not come fearing they’ll have problems when they return home.”

The Pope said: “For 450 years, Portugal did nothing for these people. Under Indonesia, they are much better off materially. Education, public health, public services are all vastly better. Still, the Indonesians are not winning the hearts and minds.”