U.S. official wants swift repatriation of refugees
U.S. official wants swift repatriation of refugees
JAKARTA (JP): The United States government urged Indonesia on
Saturday to carry out a swift repatriation of East Timor refugees
who wish to return to their homeland and immediately halt and
disarm militias to ensure security in refugee camps.
"East Timorese refugees should be allowed to make a free and
informed choice about whether to return to East Timor, to remain
in East Nusa Tenggara or to be resettled elsewhere, without fear
of retribution," Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor Harold Hongju Koh told a media conference.
Koh led a six-member U.S. delegation which conducted a five-
day investigation throughout refugee camps in the East Nusa
Tenggara towns of Kupang and Atambua, Dili in East Timor and
Denpasar in Bali recently.
Koh said the Indonesian government should accommodate the
evacuation of East Timor refugees, the process of which should
meet international standards and involve the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
While appreciating Indonesia for "a good-faith effort to
provide adequate food, shelter, water and medicine" for the
refugees, Koh said there were clear indications that pro-Jakarta
militias were still terrorizing and targeting proindependence
East Timorese throughout East Nusa Tenggara camps.
"The refugees are living in fear of the militias, which
elements of the Indonesian Military (TNI) organized, trained,
directed and still support," Koh said.
Without trying to blame TNI, Koh said the militias had spread
fear among residents to prevent them from publicly expressing
their preference to return home.
A troubling disinformation campaign by the militias had also
frightened the refugees into believing that they would be in
danger of the International Forces for East Timor (Interfet) if
they were to return to East Timor, Koh said.
He pointed out that the crisis in East Timor could only be
resolved if the government was willing to cooperate with the
international community and to assure that the militias do not
threaten and harm anyone.
"If the Indonesian government wants to get to the heart of the
problem (on East Timor refugees) we have to underline the
security situation," Harold told reporters.
He said the U.S. is prepared to join in the humanitarian
efforts.
Earlier in the day, Koh met with TNI chief of Territorial
Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at TNI Headquarters in
the Jakarta suburb of Cilangkap.
The U.S. delegation also held a meeting with newly elected
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Amien Rais to report
details of the investigation.
The MPR, which is now convening, is expected to issue a decree
which will endorse East Timor's separation from Indonesia, 23
years after becoming its 27th province.
More than 260,000 East Timorese have crossed the border with
East Nusa Tenggara to flee rampaging violence after a UN-
supervised self-determination ballot on Aug. 30 saw the majority
vote against Indonesia's wide-ranging autonomy offer.
The refugees began to trickle back to their home soil on
Friday by both air and land. As of Sunday nearly 400 people had
moved back to East Timor.
With repatriation beginning, family reunion is the main
priority of the humanitarian mission's program in the territory.
In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, the Forum for Unity, Peace
and Justice (FPDK) called on Sunday for all East Timor
prointegration refugees not to return to the disputed territory,
citing safety concerns.
"All the refugees should not go back to East Timor because no
security forces, neither Interfet nor TNI, can protect them,"
Alfredo dos Santos, the forum's secretary general, said.
He was commenting on reports which said that many
prointegration East Timorese had been killed or tortured by the
proindependence armed wing Fretilin and the Australian-led
multinational force Interfet. (04/27)