E. Timorese reiterate compensation demand

SEMARANG: Some 25 former residents of East Timor descended upon the Central Java provincial administration on Monday, demanding that the Indonesian government pay the compensation promised to them after they fled East Timor in 1999.

The East Timorese relocated to Indonesia, mostly to areas in Central Java, after East Timor claimed independence in 1999.

Amancio Da Silva, the coordinator of the protest, said the group, which had been living in Central Java for the past few years, had requested the compensation offered by the government for their loyalty to the country, but they had not received any funds to date. -- JP