Force Commander Lt. General Jaime de los Santos and the commander of West Timor, Major General Kiki Syahnakri, signed today in Dili a Memorandum of Understanding on border issues regarding security, boundary crossing, and passage of refugees, humanitarian assistance and others.

The document, called Memorandum of Understanding for Tactical Coordination in the Border Area between Nusatenggara Timur (West Timor) and East Timor between the TNI and the UNTAET Military Component, has 12 articles, and its purpose is to facilitate a close cooperation between both parties "in order to manage possible incidents and to assist in the return of the refugees."

The signing ceremony was ceremony was witnessed by CNRT President Xanana Gusmao, the Deputy Commander of Falintil Taur Matan Ruak, UNTAET's Chief of Staff, Nagalingam Parameswaran, and the head of UNTAET's Political Affairs Office, Peter Galbraith.

The MOU defines a boundary, but only for the purpose of military tactical coordination, and does not mean that the line is the internationally recognized border between East Timor and West Timor.

According to the MOU, UN Military Observers will be stationed at the 12 agreed Junction Points, will conduct tasks as Liaison Officers, and will coordinate between TNI and UNTAET PKF when the parts want to dialogue with each other.

The MOU confirms the previous memorandum signed on 12 January between Interfet, TNI and UNTAET, and includes some additional matters.

Some of these new items are: the new Junction Point in Memo, district of Maliana; the fact that when TNI or UNTAET Peacekeeping troops cross the boundaries can not carry weapons; and that the parties will cooperate in reporting and investigating boundary incidents.

After the signing, the Force Commander stressed that the document reaffirms the "mutual respect and confidence" between TNI and UNTAET Peacekeeping, and that the MOU "will result in a far stronger understanding of each other's position and a much improved ability to work together in the border areas."

Major General Syahnakri expressed gratitude for the invitation "to come to Dili instead of meeting along the border as the usual practice," and said that he hoped that the signing of the MOU will "improve the cooperation between TNI and UNTAET Peacekeeping and the speed up of the repatriation of the Timorese". However, Major General Syahnakri said that he was "concerned" with the "many" cross border incidents last week involving UNTAET helicopters.

In the joint press conference, Peter Galbraith stressed that there were two incidents, and that "unintentional, accidental incidents with no intent to cause anybody any harm in Indonesia" could not be compared with "illegal infiltrations" of militia in East Timor.