E. Nusa Tenggara Police seize 691 firearms

E. Nusa Tenggara Police seize 691 firearms

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial police have seized 691
both home-made rifles and guns since early this year from local
residents on the archipelagic province during an operation code-
named Cipta Kondisi 2004.

The seized items were displayed on Wednesday by NTT police
chief Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang to National Police chief Gen.
Da'i Bachtiar, after the latter led the General Elections
security preparations roll-call at the NTT police headquarters.

Spokesman for the NTT police, Comr. I Wayan Dana explained
that the firearms would be destroyed, similarly done by the NTT
police three years ago when other firearms were destroyed in
Kupang. At that time, at least 5,000 standard and home-made
firearms were destroyed by the NTT police.

Some of the weapons were seized from pro-Indonesian militias
and some others were handed over voluntarily by them to the NTT
police following the Sept. 6, 2000 tragedy in Atambua.

In the incident, three humanitarian workers from the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) were killed by
East Timor's pro-integration militias.

Wayan Dana explained that from the 691 weapons seized by the
police, 284 of them were confiscated in the North Central Timor
regency bordering directly with the Oecusse enclave in East
Timor.

From Belu regency, only five firearms were seized, Kupang
regency 14 firearms, South Central Timor 72 firearms, West Sumba
15, while the remaining 300 home-made firearms were from
operations conducted by the NTT police.

"We would destroy the confiscated firearms like we did in
2001," said Wayan, adding, the 691 firearms consisted of 631
home-made rifles and 60 home-made pistols.