UN demands tougher action on Timor militiamen
UN demands tougher action on Timor militiamen
UNITED NATIONS (Agencies): The United Nations Security Council
has demanded tougher action by Indonesia to curb militias
harassing UN staff in refugee camps in West Timor.
In a statement, it called on the government of Indonesia "to
arrest those militia extremists who are attempting to sabotage
the resettlement" of refugees who fled or were driven out of East
Timor 11 months ago.
Latest UN estimates say that between 85,000 and 120,000 remain
in camps in West Timor, while more than 167,000 have returned to
East Timor.
The council said intimidation of staff of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees was so severe that the UNHCR had
indefinitely postponed the task of registering people to see
whether they wished to return to East Timor or be resettled.
The refugees fled across the border during the mayhem which
followed a ballot organized by the UN on Aug. 30 last year.
The council also condemned the murder on July 24 of a New
Zealand soldier serving with the UN peacekeeping force in East
Timor who is believed to have been shot by militiamen.
It welcomed the establishment with Indonesia of a joint
inquiry into the killing of Pvt. Leonard Manning and said it also
welcomed Indonesia's cooperation in bringing his attackers to
justice.
The council expressed "profound concern at the continuing
presence of large numbers of refugees from East Timor in camps in
West Timor, at the continuing presence of militia in the camps,
and their intimidation of staff of the UNHCR."
Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab is scheduled to meet
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York on Aug. 19 to discuss
the refugee situation in West Timor.
The council said the registration of refugees "should be
completed as soon as possible given the impending rainy season."
The statement was issued by Malaysia's ambassador to the
United Nations, Agam Hasmy, who holds the rotating presidency of
the council this month.
It called on the government in Jakarta to "take effective
steps to restore law and order" and to guarantee the security of
refugees and international humanitarian staff.
It said refugees should be separated former military
personnel, police and civil servants who had worked in East Timor
when it was a province of Indonesia.
The council said it "acknowledges that the government of
Indonesia has approached these challenges with an attitude of
cooperation."
It pointed out that the government had signed an agreement on
human rights with the UN Transitional Administration in East
Timor (UNTAET) on April 6, and that a joint border commission was
set up on July 5.
"The council regrets, however, that serious problems persist
and looks forward to these agreements being translated into
concrete progress on the ground," it said as quoted by AFP.
Meanwhile from Dili, East Timor, visiting Australian Defense
Minister John Moore said Friday that UN peacekeepers in East
Timor now face a well trained and disciplined anti-independence
militia force which he claimed continues to use Indonesian West
Timor as a haven.
Moore, who was on a six-hour visit to East Timor, defended a
decision to send four high-tech, Australian Black Hawk
helicopters to guard East Timor's border with Indonesia saying
the aircraft are needed to help secure the region from heightened
threats.
"Clearly the militia today is better trained, better
disciplined and are acting more coordinated than ever before," he
said.
Moore called on Indonesia's government to fulfill its promise
to empty dozens of refugee camps in West Timor, which have been
used as training and recruitment grounds by militia gangs.
"The instability on the border is primarily due to a large
number still in the refugee camps and it's up to the Indonesian
government to move these people along," he said as quoted by AP.