Interfet, RI sign border deal

Interfet, RI sign border deal

MOTAAIN, East Nusa Tenggara (Reuters): Indonesia and the
International Forces for East Timor (Interfet) on Wednesday
signed a deal designed to prevent clashes on the sensitive Timor
border.

The deal was signed by Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, commander of
the Interfet force, and Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, who heads the
Udayana Military Command.

It was signed at the border village here, where an
Indonesian policeman was killed in a border clash in October,
shortly after the Australian-led international force arrived in
East Timor.

Cosgrove said the agreement would be respected by a new United
Nations peacekeeping force due shortly to replace Interfet.

"I would like to state our agreement with this document in
front of us," said Syahnakri, the last Indonesian commander in
East Timor.

Details of the agreement were not revealed, but Cosgrove has
in the past called for the two sides to agree to use the same
maps to avoid border misunderstandings.