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NTT Ekspres

At this time Timor Lorosae is a nation that's safe: Journalistic trip to Timor Lorosae

 The visit went very well.  Where we journalists expected to encounter difficulties we encountered friendship and brotherhood.  And it is impossible that the entire visit was engineered to give a false impression of peace because although we were on a tight schedule there was still free time when we could meet and speak with whomever we pleased.  The feeling of no enmity was not felt only in Dili but all the way from Mota Ain to Dili and on to Aileu.  There was no exceptional security except UNPKF posts at Atabae and Liquisa, but no examinations occurred.  The only strict, but polite, examination was at Batugade where not only letters but the contents of bags were careful examined. It seemed strange we were picked up only by one Timor Lorosae woman using a fully air-conditioned IOM bus.  Why was there no escort?  This question emerged for fear the bus might be stopped en route.  In short, during the time leading up to the referendum, the road from Batugade to Dili was very sensitive.  There were a lot of guard posts and examinations were carried out by local youth who were very rude and even got violent, brandishing sharp weapons when they examined people at the posts.  The IOM bus driver, a Timor Lorosae youth, convinced us that the road was very safe.  What he said was true.  Not only was the road safe but it was continually being cleared and cleaned by excavators and local residents always ready to clear away any fallen rocks that may be blocking the road.  What's interesting, as our bus passed people on both sides of the road people and children would come running, approaching the bus and yell out in Indonesian, "Refugees!  Refugees! Welcome!" Cansio explained that the bus we were in is also used to take returning refugees to Dili from the border so that the people thought we were refugees coming home.  The condition we experienced was very relaxing and there was no reason at all for us to feel afraid.  All along the road people greeted our bus happily.

 Due to miscommunication we failed to have our first scheduled session with refugees who have returned to Liquisa and have begun to rebuild their lives.  Having waiting for us since the morning they had dispersed.  Our bus stopped in front of the Liquisa Civil Police Office so while we took a break, the reporters took the opportunity to begin interviewing whomever they met.  In general they seemed dazed.  Basilio, a civil police in Liquisa who was invited to speak said he was a former member of Liquisa police.  He sent a message for the press in W. Timor to urge his friends, former members of Liquisa police, to immediately return.  Of 60 E. Timorese who were members of the Liquisa police, only 13 have returned.  "Please invite the others to return to Liquisa, Mr. We here are very short of police," said Basilio.  We continued to Dili safely where we stayed at the Oasis Hotel in E. Dili.  The conclusion is that Timor Lorosae is now a safe country, especially in Dili, and not some joke so that there is no reason for Timor Lorosae people in refuge to be afraid to go home except for those whose hands are "bloody," because their fear really exists inside themselves wherever they go.    top

Surya Timor

Former Civil Servants, Military and Police Well Received in ET

Reporters met with four former TNI members and two civilian military employees in their home town of Aileu to hear their stories of
homecoming.  Most said they were afraid at first, but were met with tears of joy by their families and accepted back into the community. Most are now supporting themselves by farming while receiving transitional aid from the government.  Similar stories of peaceful return were heard from militia members in Liquica and former military officers in Dili.    top

Radar Timor

Former Militias Block "Smuggling" Refugees

In other news relating to cross-border trade, two soldiers were expected to be charged with attempting to smuggle a truckload of cigarettes into East Timor.  Also, the NTT Chamber of Commerce planned to look into allegations that merchants are routinely bribing soldiers in order to bring goods into East Timor.  The solution, they said, was to legalize cross-border trade. Local legislators seem to agree, and plan to ask the government of NTT to press Jakarta for a change in policy that would provide a workable mechanism for legalizing and managing border trade.

Finally, in an editorial, RT identifies transitional government official Peter Galbraith as "an Australian diplomat," while suggesting that his blunt reference to the Timor Gap oil agreement with Indonesia as "illegal"  reflects Australian arrogance toward Indonesia.  [If we are not mistaken, Galbraith is a U.S. citizen.]    top

Portuguese:
Jan 20 OTL: Refugiados: Quantos são? Quantos querem voltar para Timor Leste?
"Interesses políticos e económicos impedem uma contagem credível dos refugiados. As autoridades indonésias aceitaram a presença das agências humanitárias internacionais para receber as ajudas, mas pouco fizeram para o desmantelamento das milícias, que continuam a controlar os refugiados e os regressos, em estreita colaboração com militares indonésios e partilhando com eles os direitos de passagem exigidos aos que querem voltar para Timor Leste." OTL

Jan 20 ETO: Refugees: How many? How many want to return to East Timor?
"Political and financial interests are getting in the way of a credible census of the refugees. While the Indonesian authorities agreed to the presence of international humanitarian agencies in order to receive their aid, Jakarta has done little to disband the militia gangs that still control the refugees and repatriation, and collaborate closely with Indonesian soldiers, sharing with them the rights of passage demanded from those wishing to return to East Timor." ETO    top