Refugees given until May 20 to return to East Timor<\/p>\n
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang<\/p>\n
East Timorese refugees will have until May 21 to choose whether
\nto join the ongoing repatriation program. Otherwise they will be
\nconsidered as having accepted Indonesian nationality, a security
\nofficer said.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Udayana Military Command overseeing Bali and Nusa
\nTenggara, Maj. Gen. Wellem T. Da Costa, said on Wednesday that
\nthe Indonesian government would no longer acknowledge the refugee
\nstatus of the East Timorese because of the independence of the
\nformer Portuguese colony, which will be declared on May 20.<\/p>\n
\"After May 21, or one day after East Timor's declaration of
\nindependence, there will be no more refugees. Those who haven't
\nreturned to East Timor as of that date will be unconditionally
\nrecognized as Indonesian nationals,\" Wellem said during a dialog
\nwith East Timor refugees in Sulamu regency.<\/p>\n
Wellem repeated his statement when he spoke at Tuapukan
\nrefugee camp in Kupang regency on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The secretary of the agency handling the coordination of the
\nEast Timor refugees, Stefanus Tefa, told The Jakarta Post that as
\nof the first week of May 50,000 refugees had been repatriated.
\nThis figure was confirmed by the UN High Commission for Refugees'
\nrepresentative in Kupang.<\/p>\n
Wellem also regretted the absence of markets in Belu and North
\nTimor Tengah Regencies bordering with East Timor, saying this
\nsituation could lead to an illegal trade among the two countries'
\npeoples.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, East Timor is more responsive to their economy's
\nfuture by developing numerous traditional markets in Maliana
\nbordering with the two regencies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He was responding to the instalment of new markets in the East
\nTimor town of Maliana he along with governor Piet A. Tallo would
\nattend next week.<\/p>\n
He said the markets' instalment was a strong hit for the two
\nregencies.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that he has proposed the provincial
\nadministration to encourage the two regencies to develop markets
\nalong the border areas but so far, nothing was made.<\/p>\n
\"I have proposed to the two regencies to prepare land for the
\nplanned markets in Metasin and, then, the local military will
\nhelp develop the markets, but so far nothing has been done\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Atambua, the Indonesian task force commander Col.
\nHarry Purdianto proposed cooperation between his unit and the UN
\nPeacekeeping Force (UNPKF) in the Indonesia and East Timor border
\narea ahead of the celebration of East Timor's independence on May
\n20.<\/p>\n
Harry made the proposal at the routine meeting of the tactical
\ncoordination working group with UNPKF on Wednesday, in
\nanticipation of any possible security threats ahead of the
\ncelebration.<\/p>\n
\"For the sake of security along the border ahead of the
\nindependence celebration, we hope the UNPKF and Indonesian border
\nsecurity task force will work together, especially in watching
\nalternative routes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Security coordination would be needed to monitor the
\nalternative routes in the border between Belu district
\n(Indonesia) and Bobonaro\/Covalima district (East Timor), as well
\nas between Timor Tengah Utara district (Indonesia) and Oecussi
\nenclave (East Timor), he said.<\/p>\n
East Timor is a former province of Indonesia, which seceded
\nfrom the republic in October 1999 as a result of the
\nproindependence camp's victory in the UN-organized vote. The
\nUnited Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor oversaw
\nthe region following the vote.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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