UNHCR to wind down mission in West Timor

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: After five years working in West Timor, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) will end its humanitarian mission in the area on Dec. 31, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

The UN body has helped resettle people displaced from Timor Leste who wished to stay in West Timor, and likewise assisted to repatriate Timor Leste refugees wishing to return to their home country. "The UN body has done a lot for the refugees and us, and we appreciate it," said Umbu Saga Anakaka, the spokesman for the East Nusa Tenggara government.

The UNHCR started its mission in 2001, over a year after a popular ballot in Timor Leste ended with the separation of Timor Leste from Indonesia.

The organization was stunned by a tragedy in 2001 when three of its staffers were killed by a group of armed militias, but it resumed operations a year later after the security situation improved. -- JP