E. Timorese set to leave for Portugal

JAKARTA (JP): Five East Timorese asylum seekers who have been holed up at the British Embassy since Monday are likely to leave for Portugal tonight, the head of the local mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross said yesterday.

"Most probably they will leave tomorrow," Henri Fournier told The Jakarta Post at his office yesterday when asked about the departure of the five to Portugal.

"For an international organization like the Red Cross, it is better to solve the problem quickly," Fournier said, adding that the longer the problem remained unsolved, the more the International Committee of the Red Cross would have to pay.

All transport expenses of the asylum seekers from Jakarta to their destination has been covered by the International Committee of the Red Cross, he added.

The five East Timorese, all in their 20s, walked into the British embassy on Monday, asking for asylum. Lisbon has since intervened and told Britain it will accept the asylum seekers.

The government denied the claims that the five men had been persecuted. (03)