Govt offers bonus to refugees

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: The government has agreed to provide Idul Fitri, Christmas, and New Year financial packages to East Timorese wishing to return by the end of this year.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor Piet A. Tallo said on Friday that Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Yusuf Kalla had already conveyed news of the special plan to a task force in charge of East Timorese refugees in West Timor.

It was not immediately clear how much money the government had earmarked for the program or how much each refugee would receive.

Data from the local administration showed that 30,129 East Timorese, consisting of 10,387 families, remained in refugee camps in NTT.

The governor also said that active members of the Indonesian military (TNI) and police, as well as civil servants wishing to return to East Timor, would each receive financial incentives ranging from Rp 5 million to Rp 15 million.

The special repatriation program expires on Dec 31, Piet Tallo said, adding that East Timorese refugees who opted to stay in NTT beyond that date would be resettled to other parts of Indonesia.

Close to 250,000 East Timorese crammed into West Timor in 1999 when military-backed militias went on a bloody rampage after a majority of the territory's population voted to break away from Indonesia in a UN-sponsored referendum. --Antara