30,000 Timorese refugees vow to continue fighting

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Atambua, West Timor

As East Timorese proclaimed their hard-fought independence at midnight on May 19 and changed the name of their country to Timor Lorosae, some 30,000 refugees originally hailing from the new country opted to remain in Indonesia.

They also vowed on Sunday to continue fighting for the former Portuguese colony's integration into the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, but failed to spell out how they would advance their cause.

"We in the refugee camps are proud to be East Timorese. We pray that East Timor will once again become part of Indonesia," Timor refugee Fransisco Gutteres told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Timor Lorosae achieved full independence at midnight on May 19, after more than 450 years of foreign rule, including 32 months under the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The ceremony was attended by a number of heads of state, including President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Timor Lorosae, Indonesia's 27th province for 24 years, voted to break away in a United Nations-organized referendum in August 1999.

Following the referendum, thousands of military-backed pro- Indonesia militiamen went on a rampage, killing hundreds of pro- independence East Timorese, destroying up to 80 percent of the territory's infrastructure and forcing over 250,000 East Timorese into makeshift refugee camps in West Timor.

The trials are now underway in Jakarta of 18 former civilian officials and military personnel believed to have been responsible for the bloodshed, while the number of East Timorese still living in West Timor now stands at around 30,000.

"We feel neglected. As human beings, our rights have been trampled upon. We will show the world that we are civilized people," said Mario de Araujo, another Timorese refugee in Atambua, West Timor.

Joao Martins said they felt sidelined and treated as second- class citizens by the Timor Lorosae authorities as all political processes in the territory had proceeded without the involvement of the East Timorese in the refugee camps in West Timor and other parts of Indonesia.

"The election of the Constituent Council, the formation of the transitional government, the presidential election and the setting up of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had all been done without the involvement of the East Timorese in the refugee camps," Joao said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Saturday that the government would give the Timorese refugees until August to make up their minds about whether they wished to become citizens of the new state or remain as Indonesians.

"In August, we will repatriate those who want to return and resettle those who want to stay in Indonesia," Kalla was quoted by Antara as saying.

Kalla also said that at least 26,000 refugees had signed up to return to Timor Lorosae after the territory declared its independence.