World Bank backs U.S. warning to RI

World Bank backs U.S. warning to RI

SYDNEY (Agencies): World Bank president James Wolfensohn has backed a U.S. warning that Indonesia faces a loss of international financial support unless it brings pro-Jakarta militia under control in West Timor.

Wolfensohn told reporters here Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid had a responsibility to demonstrate before a meeting of international donors next week that he was serious about tackling the militia, AFP reported.

"I would like to see the militia under control," Wolfensohn said during a brief visit to Sydney. "That is not in my power. It has to be in someone's and it is my hope that he will be able to do it."

He said he had written to Abdurrahman last week warning that if he did not do something before the consultative group representing international donors meets next week "the chances are the donors are going to react."

His comments followed a demand by U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen to Abdurrahman on Monday that Indonesia bring the militia under control as a matter of urgency and that failure to do so would threaten economic aid.

Speaking during a visit to Jakarta, Cohen said the militia must be disarmed, disbanded, and held accountable for their deeds.

"Failure to do so will have consequences for Jakarta's relations with the international community and it could impact, it could jeopardize, continued economic assistance to Indonesia," he said.

Cohen said the Indonesian leaders had indicated they understood that time was of the essence.

"Without the dismantling of the militias the problem will continue to fester," he said.

"What takes place in the coming weeks will determine what the international community's reaction will be, it could have certainly some serious financial implications," Cohen said.

Armed Forces Chief Admiral Widodo Adisucipto said after meeting Cohen earlier Monday that the militias were disbanded in 1999 after Indonesia relinquished East Timor to the United Nations in October.

Indonesian Defense Minister Mohamad Mahfud accused the United States of being partly to blame for violence in the province through its embargo on military cooperation which he said had deprived the military of the equipment necessary to rein in the militia.

Machete-wielding East Timorese militiamen attacked a UN office in West Timor border town of Atambua where they hacked to death three UN relief workers, including a U.S. citizen, on Sept. 6.

The militia fled to West Timor as UN-backed troops arrived last September to end a rampage of killings, arson and looting that followed an East Timorese vote for independence in their self-rule ballot.

Unknown numbers of East Timorese were killed and up to 300,000 driven across the border to West Timor.

Wolfensohn said he had written to Abdurrahman because he was concerned the activities of the militia in West Timor were "screwing up" East Timor as the World Bank played a leading role in trying to rebuild it.

But he said it "was not an aggressive letter" and he had already received a positive response to it from Abdurrahman.

Flag burning

Meanwhile in Jakarta, dozens of people belonging to the Youth and Students for People's Mandate burned an American flag on Tuesday in front of the U.S. Embassy in protest against what they perceive as American interference in Indonesian internal affairs.

The protesters said the U.S. had made up stories about Atambua and East Timor to strengthen its hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region.

In Yogyakarta, noted Indonesianist Harold Crouch of the Australian National University said on Tuesday that the Indonesian people should understand the uneasiness of the international community over the Atambua incident.

He noted that a UN Security Council resolution on the matter was supported not only by the United States but also China and Russia.

The international community has strongly rebuked Indonesia following the killing of three United Nations workers in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara.

"How can a country let United Nations humanitarian workers get killed like that when the country needs international help and cooperation. It is normal that many are angry at the incident," he said.

He, however, suggested the United States government not punish Indonesia through an embargo.

Crouch said the military embargo currently imposed by Washington was sufficient punishment.

Crouch's comments come on the heels of a warning issued by Cohen.