Refugees given until May 20 to return to East Timor
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang
East Timorese refugees will have until May 21 to choose whether to join the ongoing repatriation program. Otherwise they will be considered as having accepted Indonesian nationality, a security officer said.
Chief of the Udayana Military Command overseeing Bali and Nusa Tenggara, Maj. Gen. Wellem T. Da Costa, said on Wednesday that the Indonesian government would no longer acknowledge the refugee status of the East Timorese because of the independence of the former Portuguese colony, which will be declared on May 20.
"After May 21, or one day after East Timor's declaration of independence, there will be no more refugees. Those who haven't returned to East Timor as of that date will be unconditionally recognized as Indonesian nationals," Wellem said during a dialog with East Timor refugees in Sulamu regency.
Wellem repeated his statement when he spoke at Tuapukan refugee camp in Kupang regency on Wednesday.
The secretary of the agency handling the coordination of the East Timor refugees, Stefanus Tefa, told The Jakarta Post that as of the first week of May 50,000 refugees had been repatriated. This figure was confirmed by the UN High Commission for Refugees' representative in Kupang.
Wellem also regretted the absence of markets in Belu and North Timor Tengah Regencies bordering with East Timor, saying this situation could lead to an illegal trade among the two countries' peoples.
"In fact, East Timor is more responsive to their economy's future by developing numerous traditional markets in Maliana bordering with the two regencies," he said.
He was responding to the instalment of new markets in the East Timor town of Maliana he along with governor Piet A. Tallo would attend next week.
He said the markets' instalment was a strong hit for the two regencies.
He acknowledged that he has proposed the provincial administration to encourage the two regencies to develop markets along the border areas but so far, nothing was made.
"I have proposed to the two regencies to prepare land for the planned markets in Metasin and, then, the local military will help develop the markets, but so far nothing has been done" he said.
Meanwhile in Atambua, the Indonesian task force commander Col. Harry Purdianto proposed cooperation between his unit and the UN Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) in the Indonesia and East Timor border area ahead of the celebration of East Timor's independence on May 20.
Harry made the proposal at the routine meeting of the tactical coordination working group with UNPKF on Wednesday, in anticipation of any possible security threats ahead of the celebration.
"For the sake of security along the border ahead of the independence celebration, we hope the UNPKF and Indonesian border security task force will work together, especially in watching alternative routes," he said.
Security coordination would be needed to monitor the alternative routes in the border between Belu district (Indonesia) and Bobonaro/Covalima district (East Timor), as well as between Timor Tengah Utara district (Indonesia) and Oecussi enclave (East Timor), he said.
East Timor is a former province of Indonesia, which seceded from the republic in October 1999 as a result of the proindependence camp's victory in the UN-organized vote. The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor oversaw the region following the vote.