UNHCR to wind down mission in West Timor

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