Repatriation from West to East Timor picks up: UNHCR
9 May --The United Nations refugee agency today reported that 200 East Timorese had left refugee camps controlled by pro-Indonesian elements, following encouragement by a militia leader to repatriate.
Speaking to the press in Geneva, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the refugees were now in the West Timor port of Kupang waiting for a ship that will repatriate them to East Timor.
On Friday, East Timorese opposing repatriation stoned a UNHCR team attempting to pick up around 100 returnees at a Kupang camp, damaging a vehicle, spokesman Kris Janowski said. But today a former militia leader appeared before a large crowd of refugees and told them they are free to return home. This is the first time that a militia leader has publicly urged refugees to go back to East Timor, according to UNHCR.
The ex-militia leader was Eurico Guterres, the notorious leader of the Itarak ("Thorn") militia responsible for the violence in East Timor following the 30 August vote for independence. Two weeks ago, Mr. Guterres was arrested and briefly detained by Indonesian authorities in Kupang for illegally possessing a firearm, Mr. Janowski said.
The coming days will show whether those opposing repatriation will now allow refugees to return home freely, Mr. Janowski said, adding that there is a lot of pressure of the refugees to repatriate because the Indonesian government has repeatedly said it does not have the resources to provide continued assistance to the refugees.
In another development, a new Civil Service Campus opened in East Timor yesterday, marking "an important event for the East Timorese Administration," according to a senior UN official in the country.
Speaking to the press about the new facility, Andrew Whitley, Director of the Civil Service Department of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), said the subject of training was "perhaps the most important one for the country for the next couple of years."
The new campus, which was inaugurated in Dili by UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello, houses the Public Service Commission, the East Timorese Administration's Central Recruitment Office and the Civil Service Academy, where the first English classes started yesterday for border officials and security guards. Other courses that will be taught at the Academy include basic administration, computer skills, leadership and supervision.
