Indonesia, East Timor to begin border talks on March 11

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Joint efforts between Indonesia and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) to determine mutually accepted border lines between the two countries are expected to begin on March 11 and be completed by June, 2003, says a senior UN military official.

Lt. Gen. Winai Phattayakul, chief commander of the UN Peace- keeping Force in East Timor, made the statement after a meeting to prepare the way for border talks with Maj. Gen. William T. da Costa, chief of the Udayana Military Command overseeing Bali and Nusa Tenggara here on Tuesday.

"I would like to say that, so far, we are very happy with the cooperation and coordination with the Indonesian Military (TNI), especially the official and personal ties between me and Gen. da Costa, down to every level and down to every unit. I would like to say that it has been very good cooperation and coordination," he said.

Asked to comment on da Costa's recent warning of the increase in cross-border smuggling, Phattayakul said that the prices of goods in East Timor were relatively higher than the prices in the Indonesian territory of East Nusa Tenggara. Naturally, the disparity in prices had tempted some people to smuggle goods to East Timor.

"I understand that UNTAET is taking this problem seriously, as well as the government of East Timor, because this means that they are losing quite a lot of revenue that they should be getting from taxing the goods that cross the border," he said.

Da Costa said previously that he had already ordered military personnel in West Timor to closely patrol the border in an attempt to curb the increase in smuggling of basic commodities from the region to East Timor.

"It is not fair that certain people are smuggling fuel and other basic commodities to East Timor, while local people in East Nusa Tenggara are facing a fuel crisis," he said.

The agreement on border lines between the two countries will be made in a pact that will be signed by each government after gaining approval from their own legislature.