Police take over security in E. Timor

DILI, East Timor (JP): The East Timor Provincial Police took over security affairs in the territory from the military on Saturday in a move to create a conducive security climate ahead of the United Nations-sponsored ballot.

The transfer of authority was marked by the admission of 460 Mobile Brigade personnel and the withdrawal of 1,500 combat troops from the province in two separate ceremonies here.

Provincial Police chief Col. Timbul Silaen, who received the Mobile Brigade officers, said their main mission was to maintain security, enforce the law and protect the UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), who are in the province to help organize the ballot.

"With the new authority, the police are expected to take charge of stopping crimes, the illegal possession of guns, violence and intimidation against local people. We are present here to ensure the legal certainty (of the ballot) and to create a feeling of safety among the people," he said.

He said 3,900 security personnel from the provincial police force had been deployed to eight regencies to maintain security ahead of the Indonesian general election on Monday until the Aug. 8 ballot. The ballot will determine whether the East Timorese accept an autonomy package or establish an independent nation.

The Mobile Brigade personnel, who arrived here on Saturday, will be deployed to three other regencies. Approximately 4,000 more Mobile Brigade personnel are scheduled to arrive in the near future to help protect the UN mission.

"They are part of more than 8,000 Mobile Brigade police to be deployed to the province ... we are making arrangements with UNAMET on the deployment," Timbul said, adding that some 280 UN civilian police advisers were due to arrive in the near future to help police carry out their task.

Separately, East Timor Military District chief Col. Tono Suratman said the military personnel pullout was a follow-up to an earlier withdrawal of troops last August.

"Military personnel are being pulled out because the situation in the province has been improving ... they are waiting for new assignments to other areas," he said in the ceremony, which was attended by local officials, Catholic Church authorities. UNAMET spokesman David Wimhurst and several members of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Disarmament

In a move to create a secure condition ahead of the ballot and to stop violence and intimidation in the province, Timbul said police would cooperate with the Peace and Stability Commission and UNAMET to disarm warring factions.

"The commission has its own task to disarm the conflicting factions, while the police and UNAMET will help the commission do its task," he said.

The commission, chaired by Djoko, also a member of the human rights commission, has 30 members representing the conflicting factions, the police, the military district and the rights commission.

Timbul said the prointegration militia had handed over 45 home-made guns to police.

Koesparmono Irsan, another commission member, was optimistic the group would be able to disarm the conflicting factions in the next two months.

"In cooperation with the police and UNAMET, we have initiated several humane approaches to the conflicting factions, which are committed to soon disarming their respective members. We are now in the final stages of sealing an agreement between the two sides," he said.

Since January, dozens of East Timorese have been killed in clashes between the warring factions.

Eurico Guterres, deputy commander of the prointegration militia, said his group would not agree to a cease-fire or hand weapons over to police if UNAMET did not urge the proindependence group to follow the same directive.

He accused UNAMET of favoring the proindependence faction by giving protection to a group of the faction's youths at its headquarters. He said the mission had failed to help an estimated 8,000 prointegration people taking refugee in Atambua, West Timor.

He also said UNAMET should be responsible for an incident at UNAMET headquarters and demanded the organization issue an official apology through the media.

In the Thursday incident, a group of proindependence youths damaged official cars owned by East Timor Governor Abilio Soares, Ambassador at Large Lopez da Cruz and Dili Mayor Mateus Maia when they attended the official opening of the UNAMET office in Dili. (rms/33)