Timorese refugees urged to relocate
Timorese refugees urged to relocate
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Unsure about the outcome of reconciliation attempts by former
pro-Indonesia fighters, leaders of East Timorese people in
squalid camps in Belu, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), have started
urging refugees to participate in transmigration programs to
other parts of the country.
East Timorese leader Salustiano de Sousa said in Atambua, NTT,
on Saturday that East Timorese refugees had to be realistic in
assessing the situation in the newly-declared nation of East
Timor.
"If reconciliation attempts by former prointegration fighters
(PPI) hit a snag, the options left are either relocation or
transmigration," Salustiono was quoted by Antara as saying.
"Camp leaders are obliged to encourage refugees to join the
transmigration program should they wish to stay in Indonesia," he
added.
Former PPI commander Joao Tavarez has met several times with
East Timorese leaders negotiating for reconciliation and safe
passage for all former pro-Jakarta fighters wishing to return to
East Timor.
However, East Timorese leaders have given a cool response to
Tavarez' request, insisting that human rights offenders be
brought to justice before being pardoned.
As many as 250,000 East Timorese fled to Indonesia's West
Timor in 1999 after pro-Jakarta militia members, angered by the
result of a UN-organized referendum, went on a bloody rampage,
killing dozens of proindependence supporters and destroying up to
80 percent of the infrastructure in the former Portuguese colony.
While most refugees have returned to East Timor, slightly over
30,000 East Timorese are still living in makeshift camps in West
Timor, many suffering from malnutrition due to food shortages.
The government has stopped all repatriation programs for East
Timorese refugees, and, according to Salustiono, has offered two
options apart from repatriation: either resettlement or
transmigration.
The East Timorese are to lose their refugee status in
December.
"Transmigration is the only option for refugees now after
government-sponsored repatriation was stalled and resettlement
sites are full," Salustiano said.
The NTT manpower and transmigration office has recorded some
1,475 people as being ready to migrate to Sumba in NTT and
Central Kalimantan province.
Another East Timorese leader, Ansesco Sessas, said that he had
been encouraging East Timorese refugees to sign up for
transmigration.
"Refugees in this camp have said that if reconciliation and
repatriation of those accused of violating human rights in East
Timor hits a snag, the last option will be transmigration," he
said.
Ansesco expressed optimism that over time East Timorese
committing themselves to transmigration programs would still
return to East Timor, which declared its independence at midnight
of May 19.
Blasius Joseph Manek, a senior community member in Belu, said
he was convinced that East Timorese refugees opting for
transmigration would be successful because they were hardworking.
He said that the refugees should be made aware of the positive
aspects of transmigration so that they could make an informed
decision about it.
Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) halted its
operations in the district after the UN declared a level 5 alarm
status on Sept. 8 in the border area between the Indonesian
province and East Timor.
"Some 2,000 children are likely to drop out of school as
Unicef had already withdrawn its assistance, while their parents
are too poor to send their children to school," said head of Belu
district Marsellus Bere.
He said that while the UN Transitional Administration in East
Timor (UNTAET) guarded East Timor territory near the Indonesian
border, Unicef had taken care of the children's educational needs
by providing scholarships, books, uniforms and sports equipment.
Marsellus hoped that the UN would re-evaluate the security
situation in NTT so that Unicef could support the children's
education again.