---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Precedence: bulk TNI (INDONESIAN MILITARY) BEGINS SWEEPING IN KUPANG KUPANG (MateBEAN, 24/9/99). The High Commissioner of the UN for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata stated that militia units in Kupang and Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, continue to be a threat to 200,000 refugees now in an unclear status in West Timor. According to Ogata, the UNHCR has reported the milita threats to the TNI and has held TNI responsisble for the protection of the refugees and of United Nations teams working to assist these refugees. Sadako Ogata stated that the 200,000 East Timorese refugees in several areas must have access to assistance, protection from all forms of danger, and weapons cannot be allowed in the refugee camps. "I explained that wherever there are refugees, they must have access to assistancea and protection from all types of dangers," said Ogata. As is known, thousands of East Timorese refugees who have streamed out of East Timor and sought refuge specifically in NTT (East Nusa Tenggara,), still have no reassurance of protection because hundreds of militias continue to perpetrate violence against them and have encouraged this large exodus; it is expected that they will continue to be among the refugees, hiding weapons and continuing their hunt of pro-independence supporters. "My mandate extends to all refugees. Since the government has asked us to help, we must provide assistance wherever the refugees might be," added Ogata. She acknowledged that she did not have the authority to order the militia out of the refugee camps, but she hoped that the government would live up to its commitments to provide protection for the refugees because there are a number of principles that must be fulfilled, including one that states that refugee camps are for civilians, and no arms are allowed in the camps. "I do not have the authority to order the militias to leave, but we have principles, that the refugee camps are for civilians, that there may be no weapons there. This must be fulfilled," she added. "Our staff must be there to work to the utmost and to protect the refugees. The government must fully comprehend that our primary task is to protect the refugees and the humanitarian staff working to assist the refugees," she said. MateBEAN has observed that in Kupang and Atambua militia continue to be seen carrying out their operations in refugee camps, and intimidating the refugees so that they are afraid to leave their tents. It is difficult to obtain food and water because of the tight controls exercised by the militias. Last Wednesday night (22/9), security forces swept several churches in search of individuals identified as pro-independence groups. These outcome of these sweeps has not been known. It is suspected that there have been arrests and detentions of several people, but there has been no confirmation of the number of refugees detained.*** ---------- SiaR WEBSITE: http://apchr.murdoch.edu.au/minihub/siarlist/maillist.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 27 Sep 1999 jam 07:56:40 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
