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."