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)