UNHCR confirms stoppage of aid for E. Timorese refugees

Fabiola Desy Unijaya and Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

East Timorese refugees are being asked once again to accept repatriation to rebuild their new lives in their now-stable homeland if they are to avoid starvation in the cramped refugee camps in neighboring West Timor.

Raymond Hall, regional director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday that there were an estimated 70,000 East Timorese still living in refugee camps in West Timor.

"We have confirmed with them that various assistance including food assistance and local resettlement are available for them by the time they want to return to East Timor," Hall said.

UNHCR, he said, had made it clear that it would not, and it was not willing to resume large-scale humanitarian assistance in West Timor.

UNHCR halted humanitarian aid in West Timor after three of its humanitarian workers were killed in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara in September 2000 as the police stood by and watched.

Responding to a statement made by Johanis B. Kosapilawan, spokesman for the East Nusa Tenggara provincial government on Monday, Hall said UNHCR was not in a position to provide food assistance for the refugees.

Kosapilawan previously claimed that the provincial administration had specifically requested UNHCR to deal with the worsening situation the refugees were facing, including the possible food crisis and serious medical problems because the Indonesian government stopped providing humanitarian aid on Jan. 1 this year. He added that UNHCR had not yet responded to the request.

"We have never received any request whatsoever, neither from the central or provincial government. I met East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet Tallo in Kupang last week and he said nothing about such a request," Hall confirmed.

UNHCR, he said, was concerned about the fact that Indonesia could no longer afford to provide food and other humanitarian aid to East Timorese refugees due to financial shortcomings. Indonesia said the decision was also aimed at encouraging the refugees to return to their homeland.

"I met Mr. Jusuf Kalla (Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare) a couple of months ago and expressed our concern over the stoppage of food assistance," Hall said.

Hall also urged Governor Tallo to continue providing food for the most vulnerable group of these refugees, namely the elderly, women, children and babies.

"We would not like to see the cut off affecting this vulnerable group. Something needs to be done to help them," he added.

UNHCR, he said, would only support Indonesia in repatriation and local resettlement of the refugees.

As many as 290,000 East Timorese were forced into NTT during the mayhem in the aftermath of the UN-administered vote for independence in September l999. As many as 200,000 have since returned.

Kemala Anwil, a spokesperson for UNHCR, added that it could only work with the province's field coordinating unit (Satkorlak) to indirectly monitor the condition of the refugees. Sakorlak is a provincial government-sponsored agency in charge of handling East Timor refugees in Kupang and other areas in East Nusa Tenggara.

Stanis Steva, Satkorlak's secretary, told The Post by phone that there were currently 128,000 refugees, 70,000 of whom were living in camps, while the rest were residing elsewhere in the province.

"We have not yet seen any serious food crisis as previously reported, but certainly we need support from all relevant parties to anticipate possible problems," he said.

Previously, the refugees received various humanitarian aid from the World Food Programme (WFP), UNHCR as well as the Indonesian government.

Midori Kanda, an information officer at WFP, said that the agency had stopped giving food assistance because of security concerns.

"So far, we have not yet reviewed our policy on East Timor refugees in Kupang," she said.

Steva, however, complained that it has been hard to deal with the refugees. "Many of them are reluctant to return to East Timor because they are not yet sure of the situation, although many people have told them that everything is orderly," he said.