It's 'difficult' for relief workers to go back to W. Timor: UN
It's 'difficult' for relief workers to go back to W. Timor: UN
JAKARTA (JP): A visiting UN Security Council mission said here
on Thursday the security situation on the Indonesian side of the
Timor border remained volatile, making it "difficult" to resume
aid operations there.
"I am sure you know the circumstances that prompted the
withdrawal of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees) from West Timor ... until or unless those conditions
are fully addressed, it will be difficult for UNHCR and other
humanitarian agencies to return to West Timor," the Namibian
ambassador to the UN Security Council, Martin Andjaba, said
during a media conference.
When pressed to elaborate on the conditions that had not been
fully redressed, Andjaba said: "Security, of course ... you know
the murder of three UN personnel."
Andjaba, who is leading the seven-member UN delegation, was
speaking after a 90-minute meeting with top Indonesian
politicians and security ministers.
The delegation is on a five-day visit to East Timor, East Nusa
Tenggara and Jakarta to assess whether the UN Security Council
resolution calling on the Indonesian government to disarm and
disband prointegration militias in West Timor has been
implemented.
The resolution was issued following the murder of three UN
relief workers in the West Timor border town of Atambua on Sept.
6.
The murder of the UN workers sparked international outrage
and resulted in the exodus of some 400 foreign aid personnel who
were working with about 130,000 East Timorese refugees in East
Nusa Tenggara.
Some 250,000 East Timorese fled to the Indonesian province
following the violence that erupted after the 1999 self-
determination referendum in the former Indonesian province.
Andjaba, however, refused to comment on whether Jakarta had
fully complied with the UN resolution, saying his "discussions
and exchanges of views" on the issue with Indonesian officials
were not yet fully over.
"We have not yet come to the end of the briefings ... but of
course in West Timor yesterday, we were able to see for ourselves
the situation on the ground.
"We were briefed about the steps the Indonesian government has
taken in addressing the refugee issue and in implementing
resolution 1319 as a whole .... I will continue with our
discussions today (Thursday) and tomorrow, so I cannot give you a
final answer on that," Andjaba said.
The delegation met with Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
earlier in the day, and was scheduled to meet with House of
Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung and members of the
National Commission on Human Rights on Thursday evening.
The UN delegation is scheduled to meet with Attorney General
Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab and
possibly President Abdurrahman Wahid on Friday.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said during the same media
conference Jakarta had taken "all necessary measures" to improve
security in West Timor.
"We told the delegation that with the deployment of
reinforcement troops and police, the situation has returned to
normal, even much better than before the Atambua incident,"
Susilo said.
"So, it is up to the UN Security Council to reconsider (the
return) of UNHCR to West Timor," he said, adding that "the
Indonesian government has the responsibility to protect and
provide security guarantees for all UN workers in the area".
Susilo admitted the presence of UNHCR personnel in East Nusa
Tenggara was desperately needed to speed up the repatriation of
East Timorese refugees.
"We honestly believe that the situation in East Nusa Tenggara
has returned to normal ... therefore we appeal to the UN relief
workers to resume their operations there, because without the
UNHCR, the registration and repatriation cannot be properly
conducted," Susilo said.
He said that during his meeting with the UN delegation, the
government was asked to draft "a mechanism for a common
assessment of the security situation" in West Timor. (byg)