Aid for E. Timorese refugees to stop<\/p>\n
Yemris Fointuna
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nKupang<\/p>\n
Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur (JP): The government has said
\nthat, as of December this year, there will be no more
\nhumanitarian aid for around 290,000 East Timorese who opted to
\nstay in Indonesia and are now living in West Timor, East Nusa
\nTenggara province.<\/p>\n
This means that, starting next year, the refugees will be
\nexpected to rely on their own resources to survive.<\/p>\n
East Nusa Tenggara Provincial spokesman JB. Kosapilawan said
\non Wednesday that the government would now start to concentrate
\non repatriation and resettlement programs.<\/p>\n
He said that the refugees had received humanitarian aid for
\ntwo years and that they could be lacking the spirit to survive as
\nthey had been too dependent on the government.<\/p>\n
The government's decision came as a blow to the refugees, who
\nreacted negatively.<\/p>\n
\"By stopping the aid, the government intends to kill us
\nrefugees gradually. We have nothing that will allow us to live
\nindependently. We don't have any plots of land to till,\" said
\nCornelis Ribeiru, coordinator of refugees in Tuapukan.<\/p>\n
Soon after the East Timor referendum sponsored by the United
\nNations in 1999, at least 500,000 East Timorese flooded West
\nTimor. Most of them were poor and brought nothing with them.<\/p>\n
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
\nentered West Timor and started to give humanitarian aid to the
\nrefugees. The aid was halted last year following the promulgation
\nof a United Nations resolution stating that West Timor was not
\nsafe.<\/p>\n
Resolution No. 1319, which also ordered the pullout of UNHCR
\nworkers and a halt to humanitarian aid, was issued after the
\nkilling of three UNHCR workers in September 1999.<\/p>\n
Since then, the Indonesian government has provided the
\nrefugees with humanitarian aid of Rp 1,500 and 400 grams of rice
\nper person per day.<\/p>\n
\"The government, through the state budget and provincial
\nbudget, has spent around Rp 2 trillion on various programs
\nrelated to the refugees. The amount includes donations from
\nvarious parties,\" Kosapilawan said.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore we are now concentrating on the resettlement
\nprograms for those who want to stay and repatriation programs for
\nthose who want to go to East Timor.\"<\/p>\n
The repatriation programs have apparently worked well.<\/p>\n
According to records compiled by UNHCR Dili, at least 130,000
\npeople had returned to their hometowns by September 2001.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the resettlement programs, which will be carried out
\nby the transmigration provincial office, were also promising.<\/p>\n
Yoseph Setiohady, the head of the transmigration office, said
\nthat West and East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and South Kalimantan had
\nexpressed their willingness to accept the refugees.<\/p>\n
The government is also providing 5,000 houses for resettled
\nrefugees in the Kupang, Belu, East Sumba, Timor Tengah Utara and
\nTimor Tengah Selatan regencies. \"Some 2,300 of the houses are
\nready for use.\"<\/p>\n
In a separate interview, the head of the resettlement and
\ninfrastructure provincial office, Piet Djami Rebo, said that more
\nhouses would be built in Flores. The project would be funded by
\ngrants of Rp 40 billion from the European Union.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aid-for-e-timorese-refugees-to-stop-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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