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.