Moesanif warns of chaos in East Timor

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Wirasakti military commander Col. Moeswarno Moesanif accused an East Timor opposition group on Tuesday of infiltrating the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara to invite former militiamen to create chaos in the new country.

Based on intelligence information, the opposition group called Kolimau 2000 and ex-militias want to destabilize East Timor after the UN peacekeeping force leaves in May, he said.

Moesanif, whose command oversees security in East Nusa Tenggara, said the number of border-crossers from and to neighboring East Timor had increased to more than 100 per day.

Some of them are suspected of being members of the Kolimau 2000 led by Dr. Bruno, he added.

"Intelligence officers have reported that Kolimau members have been roaming around border areas and refugee camps," Moesanif said.

Kolimau was one of the clandestine groups that fought for East Timor's independence from Indonesia for decades.

But after it voted to break away in August 1999, Kolimau members were not accommodated in government offices or the legislature. -- JP