Last RI soldiers leave East Timor

Last RI soldiers leave East Timor

DILI, East Timor (Agencies): The last 800 Indonesian soldiers
and police officers in East Timor left by ship on Saturday,
ending a 24-year Indonesian presence in the former Portuguese
colony.

After a brief flag-lowering ceremony at their headquarters in
Dili, the security forces departed aboard Indonesian Navy ships,
watched by hundreds of spectators.

East Timor resistance leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao
was on hand at Dili airport for the departure of 400 other
soldiers, DPA reported.

Gusmao arrived at the ceremony by helicopter from the
headquarters of his Falintil guerrilla organization at Remexio,
30 kilometers east of Dili.

Dressed in military attire, Gusmao said his appearance at the
soldiers' departure was a "gesture of goodwill". He shook hands
with several Indonesian soldiers.

Gusmao exchanged salutes with Indonesian officers and could be
seen smiling, chatting and shaking hands with the Indonesian
commander, Brig. Gen. J.D. Sitorus.

When asked, Sitorus said he felt "a kind of sadness".

"As a human being I feel not really sadness, not regret, but a
kind of sadness. As a professional, maybe I can regret why we
can't maintain the situation."

At one point during the casual ceremony at the old terminal
building, a beaming Gusmao nonchalantly lit up a cigarette. He
later made an emotional appeal for a positive and prosperous
relationship with the new Indonesian government.

"I believe in the new government and the Indonesian people and
the process of democracy that is going on in Indonesia," Gusmao
told reporters after the ceremony.

"It (the departure) ends the historical errors and mistakes
between two countries turned enemy," he said.

He said he was prepared to meet Indonesia's new President
Abdurrahman Wahid and military leaders to heal wounds.

Standing erect after singing the national anthem, the
Indonesian soldiers cleared their weapons in unison and marched
off across the tarmac as the sun set on Dili's Comoro airport.

Singing military songs as they headed toward the waiting C-130
Hercules, some of the troops peeled out of formation to exchange
hugs and handshakes with watching international peacekeepers.

As they mounted the ramp into the aircraft some turned back
and waved to their colleagues from Interfet.

Ambassador Taufik Sudarbo, head of the Indonesian task force
which stayed behind in East Timor after Interfet troops arrived
in mid-September, was also emotional and conciliatory.

"I am very sad because at long last we are to be separated
from our brothers in East Timor, but history will show what we
can do in the future to build a new state of East Timor," he told
AFP.

Interfet troops were out in force to ensure there were no
incidents as the bulk of the Indonesians prepared to leave on two
troop ships.

Roads leading to main downtown barracks and connecting them to
the port area were sealed off as East Timorese began to gather
along the waterfront and outside the main barracks as news of the
final evacuation spread.

Ian Martin, a representative of United Nations Secretary-
General Kofi Annan, spoke of an "historic" day. The establishment
of an interim government was the next step, he said.

The UN also believed it should contribute to the establishment
of good relations between East Timor and Indonesia in the future.

Martin lauded the warm rapport between Gusmao and Sitorus

"As you saw for yourselves, it was not just a perfunctory
handshake. It was very warm exchange of two countries that have
to have very good relations in the future," Martin said.

Meanwhile, from neighboring Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees transported 200 refugees on
Saturday morning from the western half of Timor back to Dili
through two consecutive flights.

Another 150 refugees will be ferried back to East Timor aboard
the MV Lambelu later Saturday evening.

Capt. Matheus Ma'u, a police official assigned to assist the
coordination of transportation for the refugees, said local
police were doing their utmost to facilitate the work of the UN
agency.

"We will continue assisting them in returning the refugees to
East Timor and ensuring their safety until they reach their
respective homes," Matheus said, as quoted by Antara.

Members of the West Timor police led by Matheus were seen on
Saturday morning guarding the refugees at El Tari airport as they
were about to be flown back.