UNHCR concerned by RI aid ultimatum<\/p>\n
GENEVA (AP) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
\nFriday criticized Indonesian plans to cut off aid later this
\nmonth to 100,000 East Timorese remaining in West Timor unless
\nthey decide whether or not to return home.<\/p>\n
The agency told Indonesia that "the March 31 deadline may
\nforce people to take a decision which they are not prepared to
\ntake yet or which they cannot take freely," spokesman Ron Redmond
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Indonesia this week assured UNHCR that it will enforce the
\ndeadline flexibly and promised to do more to rein in the
\nmilitias, he added.<\/p>\n
East Timorese fled over the border last year to escape the
\nviolence following the Aug. 30 ballot.<\/p>\n
Some 150,000 people have since returned to East Timor.<\/p>\n
UN officials say many others are put off by fears of a lack of
\nsecurity and food.<\/p>\n
About 100,000 people currently remain in camps in Indonesian
\nWest Timor.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has said that it would impose a
\ndeadline in which the refugees would have to choose whether they
\nwould stay in Indonesian and become Indonesians or return to East
\nTimor and forfeit their citizenship.<\/p>\n
"We believe approximately half that number would go back
\neventually to East Timor," Redmond said. "The other half would
\neventually be resettled elsewhere in Indonesia."<\/p>",
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