Sarah Crichton, Kupang, the capital of West Timor, may soon explode into riots because of mounting tension between local residents and arrogant militias from East Timor, says a returning aid worker. Mr Jamie Isbister, international programs manager for the National Council of Churches in Australia, who has recently returned from West Timor, said yesterday the violence of East Timor could spill into Kupang, where resentment is growing against abusive behaviour by armed militia groups.
Kupang was the scene of social unrest last November when Christian and Muslim gangs clashed, sparking an exodus of local residents.
"The militia – Aitarak and Besi Merah Puti – have been built up by the Indonesian military to believe they are beyond the law and their actions, in line with that, have continued since they crossed the border from East Timor," he said. Armed thugs wander around Kupang, drive stolen United Nations vehicles or ride on the back of Indonesian military trucks.
"They don't pay for their hotel rooms," Mr Isbister said. "They walk off without paying from restaurants – all feeding tension in the city.
"Local police have made some attempts to try to disarm them, but there is building resentment and a very real danger that West Timorese youths will attack the militia, and we'll see open conflict between locals andthe well-armed militias." The refugees' security was "critical" in West Timor, where aid organisations and agencies are prevented from helping or gaining access to refugee camps. There have been violent attacks on humanitarian agency workers. "We have seen the intimidation transported across the border. People are very afraid," Mr Isbister said.
West Timor is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia, and Mr Isbister stressed that the local community, with few resources, had so far reacted hospitably to the influx of more than 160,000 people from East Timor.
But militia in the refugee camps were able to prevent food and aid getting to refugees believed to be pro-independence.
"Between 1,000 and 2,000 people are thought to be underground in Kupang, hidden by locals or church groups, and hoping to be slowly smuggled out of Timor," Mr Isbister said.
But their journey was highly risky because militia at the sea port or airport were using photographs to identify independence supporters on their lists, he said.
Because of the militia action, local churches were one of the few groups who could gain access to the refugee camps and were now playing a pivotal role in providing basic humanitarian relief, he said.
AFP reports: Thousands of East Timorese pushed to West Timor by Indonesian Army-backed militias could be "transmigrated" to other parts of Indonesia within weeks, making it "nearly impossible for them to return home", Human Rights Watch has warned.
The Indonesian Government says inadequate facilities make resettlement to Irian Jaya, the Moluccas, and other islands the only option, the group said.