Indonesia, East Timor to begin border talks on March 11<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar<\/p>\n
Joint efforts between Indonesia and the United Nations
\nTransitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) to determine
\nmutually accepted border lines between the two countries are
\nexpected to begin on March 11 and be completed by June, 2003,
\nsays a senior UN military official.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. Winai Phattayakul, chief commander of the UN Peace-
\nkeeping Force in East Timor, made the statement after a meeting
\nto prepare the way for border talks with Maj. Gen. William T. da
\nCosta, chief of the Udayana Military Command overseeing Bali and
\nNusa Tenggara here on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"I would like to say that, so far, we are very happy with the
\ncooperation and coordination with the Indonesian Military (TNI),
\nespecially the official and personal ties between me and Gen. da
\nCosta, down to every level and down to every unit. I would like
\nto say that it has been very good cooperation and coordination,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Asked to comment on da Costa's recent warning of the increase
\nin cross-border smuggling, Phattayakul said that the prices of
\ngoods in East Timor were relatively higher than the prices in the
\nIndonesian territory of East Nusa Tenggara. Naturally, the
\ndisparity in prices had tempted some people to smuggle goods to
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
\"I understand that UNTAET is taking this problem seriously, as
\nwell as the government of East Timor, because this means that
\nthey are losing quite a lot of revenue that they should be
\ngetting from taxing the goods that cross the border,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Da Costa said previously that he had already ordered military
\npersonnel in West Timor to closely patrol the border in an
\nattempt to curb the increase in smuggling of basic commodities
\nfrom the region to East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"It is not fair that certain people are smuggling fuel and
\nother basic commodities to East Timor, while local people in East
\nNusa Tenggara are facing a fuel crisis,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The agreement on border lines between the two countries will
\nbe made in a pact that will be signed by each government after
\ngaining approval from their own legislature.<\/p>",
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