E. Timor to deport 274 Indonesians
E. Timor to deport 274 Indonesians
Agencies, Dili
East Timor will deport 274 Indonesians, some of whom have been living in the former Indonesian colony for decades, for failing to acquire proper immigration documents, officials said on Monday.
"We have to act according to law, even though it must hurt to leave their homes," said Carlos Jeronimo, head of East Timor's immigration office. "We gave them time to sort out their documents."
Indonesian Ambassador Ahmed Bey Sofwan said the 274 people claimed they had no money to pay for immigration documents and a tax on foreigners, and they didn't want to claim East Timorese citizenship.
Under East Timorese law, a foreigner can be given citizenship five years after the application is filed.
Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following year.
East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence in 1999 in a UN-sponsored referendum.
Relations between the two countries have improved since East Timor became independent in May 2002.
In a separate development, Eight former pro-Jakarta militiamen have been jailed in East Timor for crimes against humanity committed in mayhem surrounding a 1999 UN-backed vote that led to the country's separation from Indonesia, officials said.
A special court on Thursday convicted the eight of abducting and torturing two independence supporters in Dili in May 1999.
The convictions brought to 72 the number of people convicted in East Timor over the violence, according to a statement received on Monday from the country's serious crime unit.
Among those jailed were Alarico Mesquita and Florindo Moreira, each imprisoned for six years and eight months.
Six others received sentences of between five and six years for the same crimes.
Pro-Indonesian militiamen, aided by soldiers, waged a campaign of intimidation and revenge in the months around the August 1999 poll, which saw East Timorese vote overwhelmingly to split from Indonesia.
An estimated 1,000 people were killed and whole towns razed.
United Nations-funded prosecutors have indicted 369 people, but 281 of them are in Indonesia, which refuses to hand anyone over for trial.
Of 18 people sentenced by a rights tribunal set up in Jakarta to try those accused of abuses in East Timor, all have since been cleared or remain free pending appeal, prompting criticism from activists and foreign governments.