News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212)870-3803·New
York
10-33-71B{263}
NEW YORK (UMNS) - Although nearly forgotten by the international community, about 10 percent of the population of East Timor remains trapped in squalid refugee camps in West Timor.
That’s the report from Winston Neil Rondo, chief executive for the Centre for Internally Displaced People’s Services, a humanitarian agency based in West Timor. He spoke June 6 at a briefing sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries - the same day that Indonesia was to conduct a massive, one-day refugee registration in a process criticized by Rondo’s group and other organizations in East Timor.
Concerns include the participation of the military in the registration process, the lack of international observers and the pressure on the refugees to resettle in Indonesia rather than return to their homeland, Rondo said.
After a 24-year occupation by the Indonesian Army, the East Timorese people voted overwhelmingly for independence in a U.N.-supervised referendum in August 1999. Following that ballot, the Indonesia military and militia groups “conducted a month-long scorched earth campaign in East Timor,” according to the U.S.-based East Timor Action Network, killing, raping and destroying most of the new nation’s buildings and infrastructure.
East Timor remains under a transitional U.N. administration. Full independence is scheduled for early next year.
Rondo, a native of West Timor, has worked with East Timorese refugees there since September 1999. Cooperating with international agencies, his organization has provided humanitarian assistance, worked with women victims of violence, investigated human rights abuses and supplied accurate information about the situation back home.
The condition of those refugees “is critical now,” he said, noting that children die on a regular basis. “Begging is common for refugee children. They have no education.”
Refugees have had difficulty returning home because they have been separated from their families and because the camps are surrounded by militia groups that exert control and spread misinformation. “Intimidation and violence go on systematically in the camps,” he explained.
Rondo believes churches can make a difference
in the crisis by advocating for action. He and the East
Timor Action Network, which sponsored his U.S. speaking tour,
are calling for:
· Pressure from the U.S. and international
community on the Indonesian government to disarm and disband the militias.
· Support for an international
tribunal on crimes against humanity committed in East Timor.
· Creation of a credible refugee
registration process with significant international participation and oversight.
· Adoption of a complete ban on
weapons sales, training and support for the Indonesian military by the
United States until these issues have been resolved.
Rondo noted that assistance also is needed
for the citizens of West Timor, who have been affected by the refugee crisis.
The network’s Web site, http://www.etan.org,
has more information on concerns regarding East Timor.
United Methodist News
Service
Photos and stories also
available at:
http://umns.umc.org
See also:
Jun
8 RA: Horta calls registration a farce News added June
9
"Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta
says an Indonesian poll this week to determine whether thousands of East
Timorese refugees in West Timor want to return to home, is a “sham”. Mr
Ramos-Horta says the refugees are too afraid of being kidnapped, murdered
and raped by pro-Indonesian gangs to say they want to go home." Radio Australia
Jun
8 JRS: Timor alert Alert added June 9
"Preparation for the registration [of
refugees in WTimor] was a failure. The limited time, the lack of non-partisan
people to spell out the consequences of both choices to the refugees, the
lack of information material, all contributed to this. The only explanations
were given by the camp leaders or UNTAS
(militia-linked political organisation). Many people do not understand
what their decision means," Jesuit Refugee
Service (JRS) in West Timor.
Jun
7 SMH: Fears over returning East Timor refugees News added
June 9
"Their presence in the camps would be
terrifying. They have been trying to keep the refugees in the camps as
one of their main political objectives. ... If, after the census, those
who want to come back are not provided with the means, they will be more
vulnerable than ever and exposed to those who have power in the camps,
the militias." Mr Joaquim Fonseca, East
Timorese human rights foundation Yayasan-Hak
Jun
7 ETAN and CIS urge UN to reject sham refugee registration in West Timor
Petition added Jun 8
"the refugee registration process conducted
by Indonesia this week must be soundly rejected. The United Nations and
the international community have accepted Indonesia’s hollow promises and
dangerous charades too many times and left the East Timorese people to
bear the bloody consequences. This time, they must do better." ETAN &
CIS
[the Centre for Internally Displaced Peoples Service in West Timor]
BD: 'Refugees' & Missing Persons - A collection of recent information, reports, articles and news
BD: Calls for International War Crimes Tribunal - A collection of recent reports, articles and news
BD: Military and political aid to Indonesia - A collection of recent reports, articles and news