Refugee registration runs smoothly
Refugee registration runs smoothly
KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): The registration of East
Timorese refugees in West Timor ran smoothly on Wednesday with a
tentative result of 9,226 out of 9,533 voters choosing to stay in
Indonesia and only 277 choosing to leave.
Latest records, made available at the organizing committee's
media center at 11 p.m. local time, indicated that three
regencies, Kupang, Lembata and East Flores, and the mayoralty of
Kupang had yet to submit their results, while eight other
regencies had submitted their tentative results.
The registration process was scheduled to take place during
the course of one day but was finally prolonged until Thursday as
more people had yet to register themselves, pending the result
from the three regencies and the Kupang mayoralty, Amin Rianom,
the chairman of the registration's organizing committee, said.
The fact that the registration process progressed peacefully
surprised many.
Thousands of eligible voters in Kupang had earlier threatened
to boycott the registration but on Wednesday they peacefully
amassed at the voting sites upon their own will. There are 48
registration sites in Kupang.
East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Yakobus Jacky Uli
said, when touring the registration sites, that he was very happy
with the security.
"We found no evidence of sabotage. Thanks must be given to the
refugees, who were aware of the importance of the registration
for the sake of their families' future," Yakobus said.
The refugees admitted that the registration was a decisive
moment for them to choose whether to remain in Indonesia or to
leave.
"The registration is very helpful for us to decide our own
future," Emiliano Gomez, a refugee at Tuapukan camp, Kupang
regency, told The Jakarta Post.
"The government of Indonesia cannot prevent anybody from
choosing to stay in East Timor. And the government of Indonesia
must take care with those intending to stay in Indonesia."
Leandro da Concencao Pirez, another refugee at Noelbaki camp
said he preferred staying in Indonesia. "Our main problem will be
receiving aid after registration. We used to receive Rp 1,500 and
four ounces of rice per day. We demand that aid not be reduced
after registration."
Despite the peaceful proceedings, many refugees said that they
were skeptical about the fairness of the registration and
"voting" process.
The registration sites in Tuapukan and Noelbaki were all
poorly lit. Some of the booths used kerosene lamps and some
others used candles.
Sole also said that committee members had been sloppy in
carrying out their duties due to the absence of both local and
international observers.
"As a refugee, I am doubtful about the registration process.
How could the United Nation acknowledge all this," said Bas Sole,
a refugee from the village of Oebelo.
According to Amin Rianom, there were only 41 observers, 12 of
them from Korea, Portugal, Japan, Norway, the International
Office of Migration (IOM), Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia,
Mozambique, the United Nations Transitional Administration for
East Timor (UNTAET), China and Brunei Darussalam, for 507
registration sites.
The registration and voting was organized by Indonesia in a
bid to help the refugees get a better life. Those who choose to
stay in Indonesia will be resettled in the future.
"The registration is meant to be a preliminary step toward the
orderly handling of population and demography," Rianom said, in
the guidelines of a book on registration. (30/sur)