East Timorese refugees demand asset compensation<\/p>\n
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang<\/p>\n
More than 500 East Timorese people still taking refuge in West
\nTimor held a protest recently in front of the East Nusa Tenggara
\nprovincial legislative council, demanding the Indonesian
\ngovernment compensate them for the assets they left behind in
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
The protesters said that they had earlier submitted the
\ncompensation request to Coordinating Minister for People's
\nWelfare Jusuf Kalla, but had failed to attract his attention.<\/p>\n
Should the demand be denied, the protesters plan to boycott
\nthe 2004 general election by not voting in it. As a display of
\naffirmative action, the refugees will refuse to comply with the
\nvoter registration process.<\/p>\n
There are about 5,000 East Timorese households in East Nusa
\nTenggara.<\/p>\n
\"For whatever reason, all of the assets that we left in East
\nTimor must be compensated for. Should the government fail to
\nfulfill our demands, all refugees will boycott the election next
\nyear,\" said Imanuel Ndoen, coordinator of the handling of refugees'
\nassets in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Chairman of East Nusa Tenggara provincial House of
\nRepresentatives Woda Pale and his deputy Nicolas Wolly have
\nsuggested that protesters review their boycott decision, as the
\ngovernment is still considering the matter.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, head of the Bureau of Social Affairs Stanis Tefa
\nsaid that the government would soon establish branches to record
\nthe assets owned by East Timorese Indonesians. However, he
\ndeclined to guarantee that the data collection process would be
\nfollowed up by payment of compensation, as requested by the
\nprotesters.<\/p>\n
\"We shall submit the demand to the Department of Foreign
\nAffairs in the near future for a reply,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Imanuel, the total assets left behind during the
\nperiod of communal violence that followed the UN-sponsored
\nreferendum in September 1999 was more than Rp 1.62 trillion
\n(US$182 million).<\/p>\n
\"The estimate was made on the basis of all the assets
\ndestroyed by fire, plus what remained after the referendum,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, hundreds of people from Tuapukan village, in the
\neastern part of Kupang municipality, East Nusa Tenggara, also
\nheld a demonstration in front of the governor's office, asking
\nthe government to shut down refugee camps and relocate the
\noccupants to new settlements.<\/p>\n
\"For four years locals have been unable to work their land as
\nit has been used for refugee camps,\" said Rev. Emiritos Nggadas,
\nalong with 10 other local figures.<\/p>\n
Rev. Nggadas said that, currently, the refugee campsites,
\nestablished in 1999, were on farmland that belonged to the people
\nof Tuapukan village.<\/p>\n
In response to the villagers' complaints, Kupang Military
\nResort Commander Col. Moeswarno Moesanip said that his unit
\nplanned to relocate the refugee camps from Tuapukan to Naiboat
\nvillage, eastern Kupang municipality.<\/p>\n
According to Moeswarno, the government was also completing
\nsome 250 dwellings for East Timorese refugees in the Naiboat
\narea.<\/p>",
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