U.S. warns Indonesia over West Timor crisis

U.S. warns Indonesia over West Timor crisis

JAKARTA (JP): United States Defense Secretary William Cohen
strongly warned Indonesia on Monday to disarm pro-Jakarta
militias and thoroughly resolve the Atambua issue or risk loosing
further economic assistance.

"Failure to do so will have consequences for Jakarta's
relations with the international community and it could
jeopardize continued economic assistance to Indonesia," he said
in a press conference at the Halim Perdanakusuma airport before
leaving Indonesia.

During his one-night stop here, Cohen, who arrived on Sunday
evening, met with high-ranking officials including President
Abdurrahman Wahid, Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D. and Indonesian
Military Commander Adm. Widodo A.S. on Monday to discuss the
incident that left three United Nations humanitarian workers dead
and the continued activities of armed militias in West Timor.

Cohen said United States President Bill Clinton had
specifically asked him to highlight one issue: Indonesia's
disappointing response to the killing of three UNHCR staff
members, including an American citizen, in the incident.

According to Cohen, the death of the three UN humanitarian
workers demonstrates that no program of repatriation or
transmigration can move forward until security is restored and
the militias are disbanded.

"In the meetings, I have emphasized the importance for
Indonesia of investigating the incident and punishing all persons
involved. I also appreciated the (Indonesian) government's
commitment to disarming the militias," he said.

Asked if he had set a deadline for the matter to be resolved,
Cohen said he had not "but the Indonesian government is expected
to do that in the immediate future."

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in Atambua was
attacked on Sept. 6 resulting in the death of the three workers.
The attack occurred after news broke out that former militia
leader Olivio Moruk had been murdered the previous night.

The UN Security Council quickly issued a resolution demanding
that Indonesia take action to disarm the militias and resolve the
refugee problem.

The UN also said it would dispatch a team to Indonesia to
discuss the implementation of the resolution.

The Indonesian government however has since said that such a
mission was at this time "inappropriate".

Cohen on Monday said the UN Security Council still intends to
send a mission to Jakarta and Atambua to discuss the government's
compliance with UN Resolution 1319.

He pledged that the U.S. government would provide financial
support for Indonesia in their handling of East Timorese refugees
to help create a peaceful situation in East Timor.

He however declined to disclose the amount of funds to be
offered, saying the matter would be negotiated later.

"The U.S. has repeatedly offered to help shoulder the cost
involved, including the cost of repatriating refugees who want to
go back to East Timor and resettle those who want to stay in
Indonesia," he said.

He said the President and the military leadership gave their
assurances that Indonesia was prepared to move quickly and
decisively to deal with the West Timor crisis.

He added that Indonesia was not alone in this endeavor and the
international community, including the U.S., has already given
many millions of dollars to help care for the refugees.

Earlier in the day, Indonesian Defense Minister Mahfud Mahmud
also said Cohen had expressed Washington's expectations that
Jakarta immediately settle the militia and the refugee crisis in
East Nusa Tenggara.

"Cohen said that we can't just discuss this continuously but
there must be concrete actions on the ground," Mahfud told
reporters after a meeting between his counterpart and President
Abdurrahman Wahid at the Presidential Palace.

Mahfud blamed the United States, however, for depriving the
Indonesian Military of necessary equipment to tackle the militia
problem in West Timor.

"They (the militias) are in the jungle and can hide their
weapons anywhere while we do not have enough equipment to deal
with it because the embargo on military assistance is still in
place," Mahfud said.

"I told him (Cohen) that if they really want to help
Indonesia, then the embargo should be lifted so that we can
perform our defense and security duties," he added.

The United States suspended military ties with Indonesia in
September last year after the rampage of violence and destruction
in East Timor which followed the historic vote which saw the
rejection of the government's offer of wide ranging autonomy.

Mahfud also said that disarming the militias was not easy. It
took 10 years to disarm the Vietcong in Vietnam, he remarked.
(rms/byg)