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.