UN mission in East Timor reports another violent border incursion by militia
6 March 2000 -- One man was killed and another injured Sunday when anti-independence militia attacked the East Timorese village of Azufuru, the United Nations mission in East Timor reported today.
During the attack, a third victim was kidnapped but managed to escape and report the incident some hours later to the Civilian Police of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The witness told CivPol that the militia were armed with automatic rifles and grenades.
If confirmed, this incident would be the third incursion into East Timor over the past four days, following last week's harassment of UN peacekeeping troops at the border in Sector West.
In other news, UNTAET has reported a sharp drop in the number of East Timor refugees participating in family reunions at the border with West Timor. The reunion at Batugadé on Saturday attracted 2,000 people, with only 260 from the refugee camps in West Timor. In contrast, two weeks ago, some 6,000 refugees from the camps took part in the gathering of close to 13,000 people.
UNTAET attributes the decrease in part to the ongoing misinformation campaign by anti-independence leaders, who distributed leaflets in the camps prior to Saturday's meeting. Speaking to the press today in Dili, Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees Soren Jessen-Petersen said the misinformation campaign was "one of the major obstacles in the way of the return."
"As long as people are being kept in a situation where they have no access, or not enough access, to information, they are constantly being pumped with misinformation, and at the same time with intimidation and harassment," Mr. Jessen-Petersen said.
The Assistant High Commissioner, who is on the island to assess the reintegration of returnees in East Timor, said that the most important factor in the repatriation process was that "refugees must be given a free choice whether they want to go back, or whether they want to stay or go elsewhere."
Meanwhile, the trial of militia leader Moko Soares started today in Kefamenanu, West Timor. The former leader of the Sakunar militia of Oecussi, who is suspected of masterminding incursions into the enclave, was arrested in February. Colonel Pontoh, the local Indonesian commander, has invited UN Military Observers and representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to follow the proceedings as observers.
