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)