Former E. Timor troops resettled

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Some 2,600 East Timorese former soldiers who have been living in refugee camps in East Nusa Tenggara will receive vocational training and join the transmigration program.

Col. Jurefar, the chief of the East Nusa Tenggara Military District, said it would be better for the former soldiers from East Timor to join the resettlement program to help improve their social welfare.

"Besides receiving a monthly allowance, the ex-servicemen, who are mostly still young, will be given a house and a plot of arable land to improve their welfare," he told Antara.

He said the former servicemen were also free to choose whether they would like to remain in Indonesia or return to East Timor.

Between 300 and 400 former servicemen have returned to East Timor since the territory decided to separate from Indonesia last August. (rms)