E. Timor concedes sovereignty over dispute island to Indonesia
E. Timor concedes sovereignty over dispute island to Indonesia
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post/Kupang
East Timor has acknowledged Indonesian sovereignty over disputed
Batek Island, a senior Indonesian Military (TNI) officer said on
Wednesday.
Emerging from a meeting with East Timor officials in Kupang,
Col. Moeswarno Moesanip said the acknowledgement came from East
Timor foreign minister Ramos Horta.
Horta made the statement after reviewing several documents and
maps during the meeting that proved that the island was
Indonesian territory and not East Timorese, said Moeswarno, head
of Wirasakti military command overseeing East Nusa Tenggara
province.
The meeting followed Horta's recent visit to Bali, where he
met his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda to discuss the
prosecution of Indonesian generals over the 1999 violence in East
Timor.
Batek Island, located near Kupang regency in East Nusa
Tenggara, became a contentious issue after the East Timor
government claimed at the beginning of this year that it was part
of Oecusi, its enclave in West Timor.
Responding to the claim, the Indonesian government said East
Timor had never controlled the island and the nation's red-and-
white flag had flown there since December 2002.
The dispute heated up further in January, when Ramos Horta
criticized the TNI for holding military exercises on Batek at the
end of 2003.
According to data at the Kupang administration, the island,
which is uninhabited and only slightly bigger than a soccer
field, is part of Oepoli village in North Amfoang subdistrict,
near international waters.
Due to its strategic location, fishermen from both countries
often use the island as a transit point.
With the acknowledgment of Ramos Horta, the dispute over Batek
Island has been put to rest.
In the meeting with East Timorese officials, TNI authorities
also agreed to conduct joint patrols with East Timor along their
shared border to prevent smuggling.
Meanwhile, Horta expressed concern that several East Timor
militant groups living near the East Nusa Tenggara border were
trying to destabilize the tiny new country.
Moeswarno quelled the concern, saying that the TNI would not
allow any groups to use East Nusa Tenggara as a base for
operations to destabilize its neighbor.