'Megawati's Timor trip would be beneficial'
'Megawati's Timor trip would be beneficial'
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang
President Megawati Soekarnoputri's planned visit to East Timor
will be a good way of encouraging East Timorese people taking
refuge in West Timor to return to their homeland, says a UNHCR
official.
"Should the President be ready to visit East Timor, it would
certainly encourage the remaining East Timorese refugees to go
back to their homeland," Robert Ashe, chief of the UNHCR office
in East Timor, said after a meeting with East Nusa Tenggara
Governor Piet A. Tallo here on Friday.
Ashe and Reza Hosseni, chief of the International Organization
for Migration in East Timor, are in West Timor to visit refugee
camps both in Kupang and Belu regencies in the province.
He said they were bringing with them the hopes of UNTAET and
East Timor's leaders that the President would join other world
leaders in attending the ceremony marking the transfer of
authority from UNTAET to the East Timor government and the
swearing-in of Alessandro "Xanana" Gusmao as the country's first
president.
Megawati's attendance at the historic event would not only
enhance bilateral, harmonious ties between Indonesia and East
Timor but would also help speed up the repatriation of the East
Timorese refugees.
Albertos Carlos, a UNHCR staffer who accompanied the two on
the visit, said that the refugees' rights and protection were
guaranteed if they were willing to go back home.
"Both UNTAET and Xanana have given their assurances that the
refugees will certainly get their rights and their assets upon
their arrival home in East Timor," he said.
He also said that both the UNHCR and IOM would continue to
enhance coordination with the provincial administration and the
military to provide facilities for the refugees to return home.
"The border areas between the two countries will remain open
to let the remaining East Timor refugees go back to their home
villages in East Timor," he said.
Johanis J. Kosapilawan, spokesman for the provincial
administration, said many refugees had yet to return home because
they were still awaiting the harvest.
"They are expected to register for repatriation after they
have harvested their rice," he said.
He added that besides, many other refugees still felt
uncertain of the political situation in their homeland prior to
the declaration of independence.
East Timor's independence will be declared on May 20, 2002,
with Xanana as its first president.
Separately, Yoseph Yoris, chairman of the Justice and Unity
faction in the East Nusa Tenggara provincial legislative council
lashed out at Megawati's critics who oppose the President's
planned East Timor visit, saying the President should ignore them
because they were politicians who did not want Indonesia to have
good ties with East Timor.
"Megawati should go ahead with her plan to visit East Timor on
May 20 to show the world that Indonesia is a huge nation which
wants to develop better ties with all countries, including East
Timor," he said.
He said the Indonesian people should not forget the history of
East Timor, which was once part of Indonesia, and the two nations
have many similarities in various fields which could help in
developing future bilateral ties.
He warned that the President's absence from the historic event
would likely raise suspicions among world and East Timorese
leaders about Indonesia's real intentions regarding East Timor.