UN to return 16 children to E. Timor<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A group of sixteen East Timorese children who were separated from
\ntheir parents in the chaos following the August 1999 independence
\nvote will be returned to their parents Friday, a UN refugee
\nagency official said.<\/p>\n
The 16 are currently in orphanages in Indonesia's South
\nKalimantan, Central Java and West Timor districts.<\/p>\n
It will be the second UN-organized repatriation of such
\nchildren following the return of eight in September 2001, the
\nofficial from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
\nsaid Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"Most of my staff are still working in the field and barring
\nany last minute changes, 16 children will be reunited with their
\nparents in East Timor,\" the official, who declined to be
\nidentified, told AFP.<\/p>\n
She said none of the 16 came from the controversial Hati
\n(Heart) Foundation, a Java-based group whose leader, Octavio
\nSoares, took some 150 East Timorese children from refugee camps
\nin Indonesian West Timor and placed them in Indonesian
\norphanages.<\/p>\n
Soares, a pro-Jakarta East Timorese, said he obtained the
\nparents' consent and denied his foundation had done anything
\nillegal.<\/p>\n
\"I am only responsible to the parents who have trusted their
\nchildren to my care,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Some commentators have said the apparent aim of giving the
\nchildren an Indonesian education is to nurture support for a
\nreturn of Indonesian rule over East Timor.<\/p>\n
The country was invaded by Jakarta in 1975, came under United
\nNations control in October 1999 and became independent on May 20.<\/p>\n
More than 250,000 East Timorese either fled voluntarily or
\nwere forced across the border into West Timor after pro-Jakarta
\nmilitia -- backed by military elements -- waged a revenge
\ncampaign after the vote to separate from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In a January report the United Nations said that between 1,200
\nand 2,000 children had been kidnapped in East Timor and were
\nbeing held in different parts of Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/un-to-return-16-children-to-e-timor-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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