On Wednesday, some 50 Milsas, former East Timorese members of the Indonesian military, and six former civil servants are expected to return to East Timor from the West Timor refugee camps, along with more than 400 relatives.
The pilot group will arrive at the port of Com, Lautem district, eastern East Timor, on a ship operated by the International Organization for Migration.
The families, originally from Lautem, are coming from Tuapukan and Naibonnat refuge camps outside Kupang, Indonesia.
The return of the group is seen as an important step to accelerate the repatriation not only of the Milsas but also of 20,000 to 30,000 Milsas family members who are in West Timor, mainly from Lautem, Baucau, Manatuto and Viqueque districts.
Two meetings were held in Denpasar, Indonesia, on 20 October and 9 November between UNTAET, UNHCR, IOM and the Indonesian Armed Forces TNI in preparation for this joint repatriation operation.
UNHCR will interview the refugees, IOM will take medical check-ups and TNI will pay a lump-sum retirement benefit to the former Milsas.
