UN starts relief airdops in East Timor

UN starts relief airdops in East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): After days of negotiations with Indonesia, the
United Nations made its first airdrops of food on Friday to
starving East Timorese refugees hiding in the remote hills in
Ermera and Bobonaro.

The UN human rights coordinator for the East Timor crisis,
Ross Mountain, said in Darwin, Australia, that the airdrops were
carried out only after passing a military inspection at Komoro
Airport in Dili.

He said two Australian Hercules C-130 military transports made
the flight from the northern Australian city.

The first plane, loaded with 20 pallets of rice and blankets,
flew over the town of Ermera, south of Dili, and dropped the
humanitarian aid to about 20,000 refugees sheltering in the
mountains. The second plane was destined for the town of
Bobonaro, Mountain said.

The cargo planes were chartered by the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC). The international aid comprises 300,000
boxes of high energy biscuits and 20,000 blankets. UN officials
said the food would only be enough to feed 15,000 people for one
day.

The UN also plans airdrops for about 150,000 refugees who have
fled to neighboring East Nusa Tenggara. The officials of the
world body are working to dispatch humanitarian aid to those
refugees by road, Mountain said.

Christian Koch, an official of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), said the agency would soon send medical and
food supplies to Atambua and other refugee centers in East Nusa
Tenggara after receiving approval from Indonesia.

But Mountain said there was no immediate prospect of further
flights to either area because each flight required specific
permission from Jakarta.

"We hope that on the basis of a successful operation today ...
that we will be able to move ahead with additional flights in the
days ahead," Mountain was quoted by AP as saying.

ICRC spokeswoman Sri Wahyu Endah said in Jakarta that the
organization would resume operations on Wednesday. It will employ
up to 15 staff members skilled in areas including emergency aid,
protection and medical treatment.

She described the situation in hospitals in East Timor as
worrisome because most essential medical equipment was gone.

In Jakarta, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and
Poverty Eradication Haryono Suyono and UN Development Program
(UNDP) resident coordinator Ravi Rajan signed an agreement on
Friday to pave the way for direct delivery of humanitarian aid to
East Timor and East Nusa Tenggara.

"Those who want to help refugees in East Timor or East Nusa
Tenggara are no longer required to get prior approval from
Jakarta, but they can directly send it to Dili or Kupang,"
Haryono said.

Clearance from government officials at the two airports is
still required to ensure that the packages only contain
humanitarian aid, the minister noted.

UNDP said there were an estimated 50,000 displaced persons in
Dare near Dili, 50,000 southeast of Baucau, 50,000 south of
Manatuto, 20,000 west of Ermera, and 20,000 southwest of
Bobonaro. The number of refugees is more than 170,000.

"The international community looks forward to working jointly
and cooperatively with Indonesia in bringing relief and succor to
the people in distress in East and West Timor," Rajan said in the
statement.

Minister of Social Services Justika Baharsjah said the
government would only allow them to stay a maximum of two months
at refugee camps in East Nusa Tenggara. They will then have to
decide between Indonesian or East Timorese citizenship.

"For those who choose Indonesia, they must agree to be
resettled either in East Nusa Tenggara or other provinces," the
minister said in Kupang.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piter Alexander Tallo warned
refugees not to expect too much from him because he would have to
prioritize the needs of his own people.

The governor also told militias not to continue their fighting
in his province or they would become an unnecessary burden for
the country's poorest province.

"If they still want to fight, they can return to East Timor
and continue their fighting there and not here," he said.

Minister of Health Farid A. Moeloek said the number of
refugees could reach up to 250,000. He said UN agencies like
Unicef and WHO would soon send medical teams. The minister said
the people would prefer Asian medical personnel to those from the
West.

He said health problems, such as diarrhea and malaria, were on
the rise in refugee centers due to poor sanitation facilities and
malnutrition. As of Friday, nearly 2,000 refugees were found
suffering from various diseases, including malaria, diarrhea and
respiratory problems.

Meanwhile, Antara reported that East Timor Governor Abilio
Jose Osorio Soares provided 10 cars to evacuate his 102 family
members and relatives to Nusa Indah Hotel in Atambua. Among the
evacuees were legislator Natrecia Osorio Soares and Manatuto
regent Vidal Doutel Sarmento.

"Pak governor is still in Jakarta dealing with all related
matters on East Timor," the official news agency quoted one of
his relative as saying. (27/yac/prb)