Minister's helicopter makes emergency landing

Minister's helicopter makes emergency landing

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

The helicopter carrying Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar
Chamsyah and his entourage developed mechanical trouble and was
forced to make an emergency landing in Soe, about 100 kilometers
from Kupang in western Timor on Wednesday.

The accident took place 30 minutes after the helicopter, which
was supposed to take the minister and his entourage to visit East
Timorese refugees in Atambua, took off from El Tari air port in
Kupang.

Everybody was safe in the helicopter, however, the minister's
schedule to meet the thousands of East Timorese in Atambua, Belu
regency, East Nusa Tenggara was disrupted and later canceled.

The minister's entourage included head of the Udayana Military
Command, Maj.Gen. Willem T. da Costa and East Nusa Tenggara
Governor Piet A. Tallo.

Local military spokesman Maj. Longginus, told The Jakarta Post
in Kupang that the mechanical failure might have been due to
metal fatigue (of the engine) or to bad weather.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for East Nusa Tenggara province,
Johanis Kosapilawan, said that the minister was eager to inspect
the refugees in Atambua and hold a dialog with them.

"But the plan was disrupted. The minister was terribly shocked
and decided to return to Jakarta" said Kosapilawan the helicopter
pilot.

The pilot added that he had sent a message to the Search and
Rescue team at 7:30 local time reporting the trouble.

Meanwhile, Minister Bachtiar earlier denied Willem's recent
statement that the government would extend the financial and rice
aid for East Timorese refugees until January, 2002, saying there
was no reason for the government to do so.

"The government will go ahead with its decision to stop the
financial and rice assistance for the refugees (this month)
because of the economic problems the nation is facing," he said.

Quoting Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Yusuf
Kalla, Willem said over the weekend that the government would
likely extend the aid until January 2002 to give more time for
refugees to decide whether they would stay in Indonesia or return
to their homeland in East Timor.

Over the last two years, the government, with a large amount
of assistance from international agencies as well as the
Australian government, has been distributing Rp 1,500 and 400
grams of rice per person per day. So far, some 145,000 refugees
have returned to their homeland while the remaining 140,000 are
still living in numerous refugee camps throughout the region.

East Timor leader Jose Alexandre Xanana Gusmao's recent visit
to the province has so far failed to encourage great numbers of
the remaining refugees to go back home, which is due in large
part to the fact that a permanent reconciliation process has not
yet begun among rival groups.

The refugees have been offered some Rp 775,000 and in-kind aid
per family for those who choose to return home but not many have
seemed willing to take the offer, as yet.

Bachtiar said the government wanted all refugees to go back
home "but it will respect their right to stay in Indonesia
because they are still Indonesian."