Military vows to stop militia incursions<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A senior Army general pledged on Thursday to
\nbeef up security to stop militia incursions into the East Timor
\nenclave of Oecussi.<\/p>\n
\"TNI (the Indonesian Military) will send about two companies
\nof reinforcement troops because there are only 52 troops now in
\nthe border area between Oecussi and East Nusa Tenggara,\" chief of
\nthe Udayana Military Command Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri told The
\nJakarta Post by phone from Denpasar, Bali.<\/p>\n
He added that he would replace a number of military officers
\nin the border area as they were considered to be \"slow and
\nunresponsive\".<\/p>\n
Kiki, who oversees security in Bali, East and West Nusa
\nTenggara, was speaking after meeting with the International Force
\nin East Timor (INTERFET) commander, Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, in
\nthe East Timorese town of Batugade earlier in the morning.<\/p>\n
Militias have clashed with foreign troops in the coastal
\nenclave of Oecussi, surrounded on three sides by East Nusa
\nTenggara, several times recently.<\/p>\n
Kiki said the incursions were sometimes triggered by \"business
\nmotives\" as militias smuggled food and other basic necessities to
\nsell in the enclave.<\/p>\n
\"It's very difficult and expensive to get basic necessities in
\nOecussi, so a number of people (in East Nusa Tenggara) are
\ntempted to bring in and sell food supplies,\" Kiki said.<\/p>\n
Kiki conceded that some military personnel may have been
\ninvolved.<\/p>\n
However, he said that UN and Indonesian officials should
\nimmediately discuss the issue of cross-border trade as there was
\na great need for incoming supplies in several areas of East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
Kiki also said that more than 170,000 East Timorese were still
\nsheltered in refugee camps in East Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
Some 240,000 people had reportedly fled East Timor to various
\nlocations in neighboring East Nusa Tenggara after the violence
\nwhich resulted following the Aug. 30 self-determination ballot.<\/p>\n
In a related development, Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab in
\nJakarta expressed confidence that China and Russia would use
\ntheir veto rights should the United Nations Security Council try
\nto establish an international tribunal to try Indonesian officers
\nallegedly responsible for the post-ballot mayhem in East Timor.<\/p>\n
His confidence was based on a recent meeting with UN envoys
\nduring a visit to New York.<\/p>\n
He said he told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that Indonesia
\nwould prove that its own government-sanctioned commission would
\nsuffice demands for an inquiry on the violence. (byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/military-vows-to-stop-militia-incursions-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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