RI, Timor Leste sign border deal

JAKARTA: The governments of Indonesia and Timor Leste have agreed that neither country should use the land around disputed borders at present to avoid possible clashes among people living in the areas, an official said on Friday.

Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Yuri Thamrin said the agreement was reached on Oct. 11 by the negotiating teams of the two countries at a bilateral meeting.

"Under the agreement, citizens both from Indonesia and Timor Leste are not allowed to enter the (unresolved) areas," Yuri said.

He said that a recent clash involving people living near the border occurred in an area that had not yet been surveyed.

According to a provisional agreement on the land boundary between Indonesia and Timor Leste signed on April 2005, the two countries' unresolved borders include three kilometers in Manusasi area and four kilometers in Noei Besi. Meanwhile, about 20 kilometers of the Subina border area has not been surveyed yet.

Yuri said that the two teams would hold further discussions on the matter on Nov 2. -- JP