Refugees join resettlement program

Refugees join resettlement program

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

With the deadline for the closure of refugee camps here
drawing near, 121 East Timorese families have registered for the
government-sponsored resettlement program.

The head of the operation dealing with the refugees, Lt. Col.
Pieter Lobo, said on Thursday the East Timorese families would be
resettled on Sumba island in East Nusa Tenggara.

"There is the possibility many other families will follow suit
given that the closing date for registration is drawing near,"
Pieter said.

For the last two years, the government has been asking the
East Timorese refugees who poured into East Nusa Tenggara in 1999
to choose between repatriation and resettlement. They have been
given until the end of December before the government closes down
the refugee camps scattered across the province.

An estimated 250,000 East Timorese fled their homes to escape
the widespread violence that occurred after the territory voted
for independence in a UN-administered referendum in 1999.

The government has promoted the resettlement program through a
number of East Timorese leaders who have opted to retain their
Indonesian citizenship.

"We sent these figures to the refugee camps to persuade their
fellow East Timorese to join the resettlement program. The
figures also are expected to inform their people about what their
new homes will look like," Pieter said.

A joint team comprising representatives of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and the local and central governments
visited Sumba recently to observe the island's readiness to
receive the East Timorese refugees.

"Hearing that people on the island will welcome the refugees,
we will start transferring the East Timorese to the resettlement
area immediately," Pieter said.

The government also has encouraged those who wish to return to
East Timor by providing them with an incentive in the form of
Christmas and New Year's donations amounting to Rp 1.5 million
(US$165) per family.

On Thursday, 21 more families left Kupang for their homes in
East Timor.

There are about 30,000 East Timorese refugees remaining in
camps across East Nusa Tenggara. East Timor President Xanana
Gusmao visited the refugees earlier this month to call on them to
return home.