The Indonesian government has rejected the UN Transitional Administration’s proposal to open a land corridor, through Indonesian territory, linking Oecussi district with the rest of Timor Lorosae.
According to the Vice-Governor of West Timor Johanis Pake Pani the rejection was based on security grounds.
Johanis said in Kupang he had raised the land corridor issue with Jakarta and UNTAET’s proposal was rejected based on those grounds.
But he said the issue would be brought up again in early September in bilateral talks between UNTAET and Indonesia.
“We will have to explore on how best we can cooperate to control the movement of people through the land corridor so that security could be guaranteed in order to avert problems between both territories,” said Johanis.
Jul
11 Bano: A Peace Zone: An Option for the Future of the Timor Enclave
Report added July 11
"Declaring Oe-cusse a peace zone is the
best way to facilitate resolution of the enclave’s isolation. Accordingly
it should be the first option pursued by the future East Timorese government.
Such a declaration must become a legally binding guarantee included in
the national constitution soon to be formulated. However, such a legally
binding guarantee would lack strength without a treaty between East Timor
and Indonesia on Oe-cusse." Arsenio
Bano, Executive Director of the East Timor
NGO Forum
June 2001 LHB: In Brief: Oe-cusse News added June 26
The Isolation of Oe-cusse: http://www.etan.org/lh/bulletin02.html#_05
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