398 combat troops leave East Timor

By Imanuddin

DILI, East Timor (JP): A total of 398 combat soldiers boarded the Teluk Saleh warship yesterday morning in the first phase of moves to withdraw 1,000 troops from East Timor.

The ship set sail from Dili carrying two companies of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) and one company of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus).

"We are reducing the number of troops here because the (security) situation is relatively calm," East Timor Military chief Col. Tono Suratman told journalists after leading the ceremony to see the troops off at the port.

"Their number will be reduced from 12,000 to 11,000. All combat troops will be pulled out of East Timor. We will only retain territorial troops in the future," he said.

The number cited by Tono includes the 3,000 strong local police force, which falls under the control of the Armed Forces.

Territorial troops are usually deployed to help with public works and social projects, from road and bridge building to conducting classes in schools.

"I think five battalions of territorial troops should be enough for the time being," Tono said, adding that he did not rule out the possibility of further withdrawals in the future.

Present at the ceremony were East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, provincial legislative council chief Armindo Soares Mariano, East Timor Police chief Col. G.S. Timbul Silaen, secretary to the Dili diocese Jose Antonio da Costa, and chairman of East Timor's office of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas M. Sagran.

The Teluk Saleh is now heading for East Kalimantan, where one Kostrad company will disembark and take up new duties in the oil- rich town of Balikpapan. It will then steam on to Jakarta with the Kopassus company, which is barracked in Cijantung, East Jakarta, and the remaining Kostrad company which comes from the West Java Siliwangi Regional Military Command in Bandung.

Tono said the remaining combat troops would be withdrawn next month.

"We do not have a vessel large enough to carry all the troops together so we will have to wait for another ship to come and collect them," he said.

Responding to a journalist's question, Tono said the military would not withdraw all its troops from East Timor, as often demanded by separatist leaders.

"Let me ask you, is there any country in the world which only has a police presence and does not depend on the military in one way or another?" he said.

Col. Silaen said the police were ready to take over the responsibility of maintaining security from the soldiers.

However, he said the police needed three more Mobile Brigade companies to complement the three already deployed in the province.

Watching the ceremony until the end, Governor Abilio said he welcomed the ABRI-initiated withdrawal of troops.

"It's a good move. I appeal to the East Timor separatists to end their armed resistance and start a dialog as part of efforts to settle East Timor's problems," he said.

Abilio estimated the separatist movement had 200 active members, 100 of whom were armed.

He said the number of troops would be further reduced in line with declining separatist activities in the province.

About 1,000 Dili residents who watched the Teluk Saleh inch out of the port yesterday expressed their fears and hopes at the sight.

"ABRI keep saying that East Timor is safe. If that is so, why does it keep such a large presence here?" said a middle-aged East Timorese man who identified himself only as Antonio.

"They are only supposed to deploy the police in East Timor. The soldiers must all go back home," he said.

Pedro da Silva, a second-year mathematics student at the state East Timor University agreed that all troops must be withdrawn from the province and security handled solely by the police.

"People could protect themselves without the soldiers' presence," he said.

Augusto da Silva, a worker at a local private company, suspected that this was more of a troop rotation than a genuine withdrawal.

"I don't believe that the troops have really been withdrawn. Just last month a fresh consignment of troops arrived here," he said.

He also questioned the reasons for keeping such a large military presence in the region. "If ABRI says there are 200 separatist rebels, why do they need so many troops here?" he asked.