Indonesia, East Timor agree to demilitarize border
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang
In line with the planned establishment of an independent East Timor early next year, Indonesia and East Timor have agreed to demilitarize their border areas to allow their people to visit one another freely.
The bilateral agreement was reached in a meeting of Indonesian and East Timorese officials in Atambua over the weekend. Representing Indonesia were Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo and Maj. Gen. Willem T. da Costa, chief of the Udayana Military Command overseeing Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara. Present for the East Timorese side were Jose Ramos Horta, foreign minister of the UN Transition Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and Brig. Gen. Taur Matan Ruak, chief of the East Timor Armed Forces.
Da Costa said Indonesia would pull out 1,500 troops stationed in the border region while UNTAET would withdraw all Australian and New Zealand personnel stationed in the border region as part of the UN peace-keeping force.
"The coordination of the withdrawal of security personnel from the border areas has been made in our meeting with Ramos Horta and Gen. Taur in Atambua. The important thing is that both sides agreed to insert stakes along the two countries' demarcation line. We agreed to keep the borderline open for our people to cross freely, like the one between Malaysia's Johor and Singapore," he said in the city on Monday.
He said the government would establish only an office to give immigration and tax services for border crossers.
In Dili, East Timorese leader Jose Alexandre Xanana Gusmao hailed the agreement, saying it would allow people living in the border areas to visit one another and to carry out business activities.
"The time will come later when the borderline is no longer guarded by soldiers but by stakes erected to mark the two countries' borderline," he said recently, referring to the some 8,000 personnel of the peace-keeping force stationed in the border areas who would be withdrawn following the formation of the East Timorese state early in 2002.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday the provincial administration finally provided a clarification of the number of East Timorese refugees remaining in the province. It said the total number of East Timorese refugees still remaining in the province was 143,803.
Husein Pancratius, chief of the local social affairs ministry office, said that, of the 143,803 refugees, 9,304 were in Kupang city, 5,080 in South Timor Tengah Regency, 50, 412 in Kupang Regency, 59,490 in Belu Regency, 18, 129 in North Timor Tengah Regency and 429 in Alor Island.
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nua Wea recently alleged that certain local officials had intentionally marked up the number of East Timorese refugees to gain "financial benefits" at the refugees' expense.
The government has provided Rp 1,500 and 400 grams of rice per day per person for the refugees.
Husein said that around 2,000 refugees had returned to their home territory this October while a majority of the remaining refugees were expected to follow suit in the coming months.
"The refugees are expected to go back home after learning that those who have already returned to East Timor have received humane treatment," he said.