---------------------------------------------------------- FREE Subscribe/UNsubscribe Indonesia Daily News Online 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 -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Free Email @KotakPos.com visit: http://my.kotakpos.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------- ANTARA, FEBRUARY 11, 2000 E NUSA TENGGARA BETTER OFF WITHOUT E TIMORESE REFUGEES, SAYS GOVERNOR Kupang, Feb 10 <ANTARA>-East Nusa Tenggara <West Timor> Governor Piet Tallo said here Thursday his province would be freed from humanitarian problems if all Timorese refugees in the territory returned to their homeland. "We <the Indonesian government> never put pressure on them to stay here. In fact, their presence here has been a burden on us," he said when receiving Finnish Ambassador to Indonesia Hannu U Himanen and six Finnish members of parliament. "Many of our people are poor but they have had to accept the presence of the refugees," he said. He said the refugees were receiving a lot of food from variuos countries whereas the native population had to work had in order not to starve. He said the international aid for refugees had caused social jealousy among the locals. "I ask international donors to pay attention to this fact so that the jealousy does not grow," he said. The governor said it would be better if all the refugees returned to East Timor to end the jealously. A total of 158,303 refugees or 34,441 families were still living in camps in East Nusa Tenggara, he said adding the Indonesian government planned to stop sending aid to the refugees on March 20. Himanen on the occation said that the aim of the visit of members of Finland's House Commission for Foreign Affairs was to take a closer look at the conditions of the refugees to see the best possible aid their country could contribute. So far Finland had e tended US$1 million worth of aid to the refugees throuh the UNHCR, Worth Food Program and Red Cross, he said. <U/Kpg-03/Kpg-02/Kpg-01/ri2/20:47/IAJM-00:35/fn01/00:38/TB04> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 16 Feb 2000 jam 05:10:41 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
