Belu people criticize E.Timor visa ruling

Belu people criticize E.Timor visa ruling

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

People in the East Timor regency of Belu expressed
disappointment over the country's recent ruling to impose a US$25
visa on visitors from Indonesia, which it borders.

A number of local figures warned on Tuesday that the visa
ruling, which took effect on April 19, would burden East Timor
more than it would Indonesia.

Belu resident and local figure Nikolaus Tnano estimated the
visa ruling would have little impact on the life of people in
Belu.

"Don't think that by asking for a $25 visa it would hurt East
Nusa Tenggara people living close to the border," said Nikolaus,
as quoted by Antara.

East Timorese, meanwhile, must pay around $30 to get a visa to
enter Indonesia.

Nikolaus said that most people who traveled to East Timor did
so because they had family members in that country. There were
only a few of them, he said.

But he said that the visa ruling would hurt trading activities
between the two countries. "People in East Timor will have
difficulty in buying basic commodities."

He explained that many traders from Indonesia sold their
products in East Timor. Villages along the borders of East Timor,
he said, depended on food supplies from Indonesia.

Another local figure, David Manek, expressed his
disappointment, with a similar warning to East Timor.

"The people and the government of East Timor shouldn't think
that people in Belu have a keen interest in going to East Timor,
and so become anxious because of the visa ruling," he said.

Belu resident Gregorius M. Fernandez said the visa ruling
would affect East Timorese living close to the border.

"The government of East Timor may be seeking to get some extra
income through the visitor visas, but this ruling is hurting the
majority of small people in the villages," said Gregorius, who
works for the UNICEF office in East Timor.

East Timor broke away from Indonesia in 1999 when a UN-backed
referendum resulted in the people overwhelmingly voting for
independence.

Four years later, the former province is struggling to raise
funds as it still relies on development aid from international
agencies.

Border security, meanwhile, remains slack. An immigration
official at the Indonesian border town of Atambua said people
from either country often crossed the border without bothering to
show their passport. Many of these people, he said, did not even
have a passport in which to stamp a visa.