560 families to be resettled

DILI, East Timor: Five hundred and sixty families from local and other islands will be settled in East Timor in three transmigration sites, the local transmigration office's chief said here yesterday.

L. Madyo told Antara that families were being selected with first placements scheduled for next month.

Madyo said 200 families would be resettled in Bonuk, 300 families in Lore and 60 families in Oebaba. The infrastructure, basic fixtures and homes for them had been built last year, he said.

His office prioritized continued cooperation with the provincial administration, he said. Families should be resettled on a monthly basis because problems often arose which affected the timing of placements.

The provincial administration offered families training and development while the Ministry of Transmigration's local office provided land and tools for the young farmers in the "crash program" to reduce unemployment, Madyo said.

He said that 200 families had been resettled in Betano (Manufahi), 200 families in Faularan (Liquisa) and 100 families in Raimean (Kovalima).

The ministry's local office says that 6,484 families, or 28,950 resettlers, are now living in East Timor. Of those, 2,300 families are being trained for farming by the provincial administration and the remaining 4,148 families are under the ministry's supervision.

Another 300 families would be resettled between now and 1998, with 100 families being placed in each of the camps in Manatuto, Baucau and Kovalima regencies, he said. (01)