U.S. warns Indonesia over West Timor crisis<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): United States Defense Secretary William Cohen
\nstrongly warned Indonesia on Monday to disarm pro-Jakarta
\nmilitias and thoroughly resolve the Atambua issue or risk loosing
\nfurther economic assistance.<\/p>\n
"Failure to do so will have consequences for Jakarta's
\nrelations with the international community and it could
\njeopardize continued economic assistance to Indonesia," he said
\nin a press conference at the Halim Perdanakusuma airport before
\nleaving Indonesia.<\/p>\n
During his one-night stop here, Cohen, who arrived on Sunday
\nevening, met with high-ranking officials including President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D. and Indonesian
\nMilitary Commander Adm. Widodo A.S. on Monday to discuss the
\nincident that left three United Nations humanitarian workers dead
\nand the continued activities of armed militias in West Timor.<\/p>\n
Cohen said United States President Bill Clinton had
\nspecifically asked him to highlight one issue: Indonesia's
\ndisappointing response to the killing of three UNHCR staff
\nmembers, including an American citizen, in the incident.<\/p>\n
According to Cohen, the death of the three UN humanitarian
\nworkers demonstrates that no program of repatriation or
\ntransmigration can move forward until security is restored and
\nthe militias are disbanded.<\/p>\n
"In the meetings, I have emphasized the importance for
\nIndonesia of investigating the incident and punishing all persons
\ninvolved. I also appreciated the (Indonesian) government's
\ncommitment to disarming the militias," he said.<\/p>\n
Asked if he had set a deadline for the matter to be resolved,
\nCohen said he had not "but the Indonesian government is expected
\nto do that in the immediate future."<\/p>\n
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in Atambua was
\nattacked on Sept. 6 resulting in the death of the three workers.
\nThe attack occurred after news broke out that former militia
\nleader Olivio Moruk had been murdered the previous night.<\/p>\n
The UN Security Council quickly issued a resolution demanding
\nthat Indonesia take action to disarm the militias and resolve the
\nrefugee problem.<\/p>\n
The UN also said it would dispatch a team to Indonesia to
\ndiscuss the implementation of the resolution.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government however has since said that such a
\nmission was at this time "inappropriate".<\/p>\n
Cohen on Monday said the UN Security Council still intends to
\nsend a mission to Jakarta and Atambua to discuss the government's
\ncompliance with UN Resolution 1319.<\/p>\n
He pledged that the U.S. government would provide financial
\nsupport for Indonesia in their handling of East Timorese refugees
\nto help create a peaceful situation in East Timor.<\/p>\n
He however declined to disclose the amount of funds to be
\noffered, saying the matter would be negotiated later.<\/p>\n
"The U.S. has repeatedly offered to help shoulder the cost
\ninvolved, including the cost of repatriating refugees who want to
\ngo back to East Timor and resettle those who want to stay in
\nIndonesia," he said.<\/p>\n
He said the President and the military leadership gave their
\nassurances that Indonesia was prepared to move quickly and
\ndecisively to deal with the West Timor crisis.<\/p>\n
He added that Indonesia was not alone in this endeavor and the
\ninternational community, including the U.S., has already given
\nmany millions of dollars to help care for the refugees.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Indonesian Defense Minister Mahfud Mahmud
\nalso said Cohen had expressed Washington's expectations that
\nJakarta immediately settle the militia and the refugee crisis in
\nEast Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
"Cohen said that we can't just discuss this continuously but
\nthere must be concrete actions on the ground," Mahfud told
\nreporters after a meeting between his counterpart and President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid at the Presidential Palace.<\/p>\n
Mahfud blamed the United States, however, for depriving the
\nIndonesian Military of necessary equipment to tackle the militia
\nproblem in West Timor.<\/p>\n
"They (the militias) are in the jungle and can hide their
\nweapons anywhere while we do not have enough equipment to deal
\nwith it because the embargo on military assistance is still in
\nplace," Mahfud said.<\/p>\n
"I told him (Cohen) that if they really want to help
\nIndonesia, then the embargo should be lifted so that we can
\nperform our defense and security duties," he added.<\/p>\n
The United States suspended military ties with Indonesia in
\nSeptember last year after the rampage of violence and destruction
\nin East Timor which followed the historic vote which saw the
\nrejection of the government's offer of wide ranging autonomy.<\/p>\n
Mahfud also said that disarming the militias was not easy. It
\ntook 10 years to disarm the Vietcong in Vietnam, he remarked.
\n(rms\/byg)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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