Prointegration militia members reenter Liquisa area

Prointegration militia members reenter Liquisa area

JAKARTA (JP): Only a month since the arrival of the
International Force for East Timor (Interfet) troops and the
massive evacuation of East Timorese into the bordering East Nusa
Tenggara (NTT) town of Atambua, dozens of prointegration militias
have reentered the former Indonesian province, Antara reported on
Friday.

The news agency quoted Interfet commander Maj. Gen. Peter
Cosgrove, in a televised interview with the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in the East Timor capital of Dili
on Friday, as saying that the deputy chief of the Pro-Integration
Struggle (PPI) Command Eurico Guterres and 150 militia members
penetrated the northern East Timor town of Liquica on Thursday.

Cosgrove earlier strongly denied the presence of the
prointegration militia, but later admitted their activities in
the coastal town, some 60 kilometers west of Dili.

While quoting a military report, he said Guterres and his
troops disappeared into the woods soon after their arrival in the
town. "Guterres then left his troops and promised to return with
more troops."

Cosgrove told the ABC that Interfet would not let the
infiltration happen again.

Interfet would also confiscate the weapons of any militia
members if they were seen reentering the area, he said.

In a related development, Interfet has been instructed to set
up a buffer zone in the border area between Indonesia's NTT and
East Timor, following the Sunday's mix-up at the NTT border in
which Interfet troops reportedly breached the border and fatally
33killed an Indonesian police officer, Antara said.

The agency quoted The Australian in its Thursday edition as
saying that the United States had banned its helicopters, which
are deployed in the Interfet operation, from flying near East
Timor's border area.

It is not clear, however, who gave the instruction.

The Australian-led Interfet troops which raided the Montael
area in NTT and fatally killed an Indonesian Mobile Brigade
Police officer on Sunday were instructed to stay one kilometer
away from the NTT border.

The order to set up a neutral buffer zone was made in
response to international pressure on Australia following the
incident. Cosgrove welcomed a plea made by Minister of Security
and Defense/Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Wiranto for
the prointegration group not to retaliate because of the raid.

Separately, the third Australian battalion of the Sydney-based
Alpha Company is reported to have arrived in East Timor's
district of Bobonaro on Wednesday.

Bobonaro is the stronghold of Falintil, an armed wing of a
proindependence group in East Timor.

Spokesman of the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), David
Wimhurst, said in Dili that 47 civilian policemen have returned
to Baucau, Liquica and Dili after they fled the troubled
territory following postreferendum violence there.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) said in a press statement on Friday that Indonesia had
formally agreed to grant the UN body free and unimpeded access to
refugees across NTT.

The UNHCR revealed that the Indonesian government had granted
freedom for the refugees whether they wanted to return to East
Timor or remain in Indonesia.

Separately, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and
Poverty Eradication Haryono Suyono signed an agreement on
Thursday that will send the refugees, currently staying in the
refugee camps in Atambua, back to East Timor.

In Denpasar, Bali, several organizations and residents
distributed food and logistics needed by thousands of Balinese
settlers who fled from East Timor.

Among the groups were the Bali Hati Foundation, the Indonesian
Legal Aid Foundation, Forum Merah Putih and the Bali Relief task
force.

Forum Merah Putih has gathered a total of Rp 86 million from a
Bali painting auction to help the refugees.

In Kupang, NTT, Antara quoted spokesman of UNHCR Fernando as
saying that there are over 271,000 East Timor refugees sheltering
in the province.

It was also reported by NTT deputy governor Johanis Pake Pani
that 115 refugees, most of them children, died due to contagious
diseases contracted from poor shelter and sanitation. They
included conditions such as diarrhea and severe breathing
problems. (50/edt/imn)