UN refugee body wants rapid access to East Timorese<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The United Nations High Commissioner for
\nRefugees (UNHCR) is awaiting approval from the Indonesian
\ngovernment and military to resume its work assisting East
\nTimorese refugees, the commissioner's director said.<\/p>\n
The director of the UNHCR Asia-Pacific bureau, Francois
\nFouinat, met on Thursday with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali
\nAlatas to convey this request.<\/p>\n
\"We requested that as soon as possible we would be given the
\npossibility to provide assistance to people... starting first in
\nDili and hopefully going beyond that as the security situation
\nimproves,\" Fouinat said, adding that Alatas promised the
\ncooperation of the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n
UNHCR, in cooperation with other international aid
\norganizations, began assisting East Timorese refugees a few
\nmonths before the Aug. 30 ballot.<\/p>\n
Fouinat said there was \"a very serious humanitarian problem\"
\nin East Timor \"as many people had fled in a very precarious
\nsituation with a lack of basic necessities\". He said it was
\nimperative for UNHCR to resume its mission as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\"UNHCR is still present in Dili today, having three
\ninternational staff in the UNAMET compound. They occasionally go
\nout to collect people who are in need of assistance,\" he said.
\nUNAMET is the acronym for the United Nations Mission in East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
However, due to limited contact, he said the organization does
\nnot even have data on the number of people in need. The UNAMET
\ncompound has also been the target of attack by militias.<\/p>\n
Fouinat said Alatas \"had given encouraging assurances\".<\/p>\n
Alatas earlier pointed to the hope that law and order would be
\nrestored in East Timor under the newly installed commander of the
\nSecurity Restoration Operation Command in East Timor, Maj. Gen.
\nKiki Syahnakri. The command is tasked with restoring security and
\nreinstating public services in the territory.<\/p>\n
UNHCR regional representative Renee van Rooyen said food and
\nother basic necessities would be sent to East Nusa Tenggara, but
\ndid not say when.<\/p>\n
Van Rooyen said the security situation in East Timor's
\nneighboring province was \"totally unpredictable\". He said UNHCR
\nstaff were mistaken for UNAMET officials and met with a hostile
\nreception from refugees, who included prointegration supporters.<\/p>\n
In a brief visit to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday,
\nFouinat said he and two staff members were attacked and their car
\nstoned and torched.<\/p>\n
Revenge<\/p>\n
Antara news agency reported from Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara,
\non Thursday that refugees there were beginning to overwhelm the
\n12,000 local residents.<\/p>\n
The impact of the influx of refugees is beginning to be felt,
\nBeli regency military commander Lt. Col. Sigit said, adding that
\nproindependence and prointegration supporters were among the
\nrefugees.<\/p>\n
\"Refugees have brought with them years of revenge, so we
\ncontinue to ask that they do not fight here,\" Sigit said.<\/p>\n
Belu Police chief Lt. Col. M. Natsir Achmad said
\nprointegration militia continued to harass and threaten
\nproindependence supporters in Atambua and other areas of East
\nNusa Tenggara. \"Another impact is that shop supplies are quickly
\ndrying up here,\" Natsir said.<\/p>\n
Fever and diarrhea are also beginning to affect children, and
\nthere are only enough mats and blankets from the Indonesian Red
\nCross and the International Committee of the Red Cross for 5,000
\nrefugees.<\/p>\n
The head of the local office of the Ministry of Social
\nServices, Damra Kopagoka, said medicine and food supplies were
\nurgently needed by the end of next week. Water is also lacking,
\nwith Antara reporting that some 200 families sheltering in
\nHaliwen stadium in Atambua only have access to water from one
\nsmall tank.<\/p>\n
\"We are short of water. But what's most important is that our
\nwives and children are safe,\" one of the refugees, Anton da
\nCosta, said. He said he was the commander of the Blood of
\nIntegration militia in East Timor's Ermera regency.<\/p>\n
Separately in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, the Medical
\nDoctors of Asia said it would send 10 specialists to Atambua.<\/p>\n
Coordinator Idrus Paturusi said the team would bring medical
\nsupplies worth Rp 100 million and stay for two weeks.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday Air Force regional commander Rear Marshall Ian
\nSantoso in Ujungpandang had said the Air Force had among others
\nevacuated 1,898 from Baucau and Dili and were still evacuating
\nsome 1,200 more.<\/p>\n
Megawati<\/p>\n
From Kupang, Antara reported on Thursday that Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri visited refugees in the village of Noelbaki, 12
\nkilometers east of Kupang. Some 7,000 people are sheltering
\nthere.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo, a
\nclearly moved Megawati was greeted by thousands of refugees who
\nscrambled to shake her hand.<\/p>\n
Some refugees said they hoped to return to East Timor, while
\nothers said they would resettle outside the territory.<\/p>\n
A number of refugees also said they were still waiting for
\nmissing relatives. In Surakarta, Coordinating Minister for
\nPeople's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Haryono Suyono said
\nsettlements would also be provided, mainly in East Timor.
\nSupplies for refugees were enough for two weeks, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Please stay in Kupang for a while, brothers and sisters,\"
\nMegawati said. \"Let us shoulder this suffering together.\"<\/p>\n
The head of the East Nusa Tenggara office of the Ministry of
\nSocial Services, Bambang Subroto, said he proposed Rp 40 billion
\nbe allocated to assist an expected 100,000 refugees.<\/p>\n
AFP quoted an Australian-based East Timorese proindependence
\nactivist as saying that some 100,000 East Timorese had fled to
\nthe hills in the territory, with food and water rapidly running
\nout. (emf\/27\/yac\/edt\/anr\/44)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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