Jon Land - Up to 120,000 East Timorese are still languishing in refugee camps throughout West Timor 10 months after the post-referendum rampage by the Indonesian military and their pro-integration militia proxies forced around 290,000 East Timorese across the border.

Intimidation and violence instigated by militia gang members is continuing on a daily basis in many refugee camps. The activity of the militia gangs has added to the growing antagonism between East Timorese refugees and local residents, resulting in the repatriation of refugees to East Timor slowing to a trickle.

The situation in many camps has become so bad recently that the two main organisations responsible for administering the repatriation process, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), have been forced to dramatically curtail their operations.

Clashes near Kupang during the first week of July between machete-armed locals and East Timorese from the Tuapukan and Noelbaki camps resulted in houses and vehicles being destroyed and numerous casualties. The Bali Post reported on July 7 that on July 6, residents from the town of Oesao attacked the refugee camp at Tuapakan in retaliation for the looting and burning of their homes the previous weekend.

On July 7, the IOM announced that it was suspending its activities until July 10 or 11. On July 10, however, the IOM said its Kupang-based operations would be suspended for at least another week because the situation was still very tense. The UNHCR described the security situation in Tuapukan and Noelbaki camps, where some 25,000 East Timorese refugees are living, as "volatile".

Refugee registration in these camps had already been suspended for two weeks in the second half of June because of attacks on staff (three days of battles between locals and refugees that occurred at Tuapukan at the end of May also interrupted the movement of refugees). Repatriation activity in these camps resumed on July 4 following a pledge by the governor of West Timor that police would provide "round-the-clock security". Yet all reports so far indicate that the police have done nothing – or are unable – to stop the violence.

Roadblocks established by locals and East Timorese on the main road out of Kupang are also hindering IOM and UNHCR volunteers trying to reach refugee registration centres throughout West Timor, particularly those attached to the large camps near the towns of Soe, Kefamenanu and Atambua.

In camps surrounding Atambua and Betun, the UNHCR reports, registration staff and drivers have been threatened and prevented from doing their work. Such incidents have been a regular occurrence since the repatriation program began late last year.

Militia misinformation campaign

The deteriorating situation between local residents and East Timorese, and the slow return of refugees to East Timor, is attributable to the militia gangs and East Timorese who are or where formerly in the Indonesian army (TNI). There are approximately 2686 East Timorese TNIs scattered through refugee settlements in West Timor, plus an unknown number (possibly several thousand) of militia gang members.

The militia leaders control most if not all aspects of life in the refugee camps where they are present. They enforce their control through terror and with impunity; only a handful have been arrested by the authorities. The fact that gang members can freely carry weapons (including firearms) in and outside the camps and travel in groups dressed in military style uniforms suggests that their activity has the tacit support of the TNI. The militia gangs are also reportedly involved in gambling, extortion and other rackets, creating another point of tension for both the refugees and locals.

A massive intimidation and misinformation campaign by the militia gangs throughout the year has meant that large numbers of refugees are too afraid to register for repatriation. The persistent presence of the refugees has in turn angered many locals who believe the refugees receive special treatment from local and international aid agencies and that the camps are placing too much pressure on the infrastructure of West Timor, already one of Indonesia's more impoverished provinces. In some parts of West Timor, refugees outnumber the indigenous population.

The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) has made repeated appeals to Indonesian government officials and military authorities to resolve this situation and assist aid organisations with their operations. Along with the UNHCR, it has called for the disarming of the militia gangs and the separation of TNI members away from the refugees.

When UNHCR officials met in April with the Indonesian military commander for West Timor, General Kiki Syahnakri, they sought assurance that East Timorese TNI and police would be moved away from other refugees to an Indonesian army facility and that security for international and local aid efforts would be provided.

Syahnakri, who claims to be "highly committed" to ending the militia gangs' activities, now says that the relocation (or retiring) of TNI members to barracks is hampered by a lack of funds to support them members and their families.

Another issue which is delaying the repatriation of the refugees is the uncertainty among former civil servants about whether they will receive the pensions and payments from the Indonesian government that they are entitled to. The July 6 Jakarta Post reported that, at the conclusion of talks between the Indonesian government and UNTAET, Indonesian foreign affairs official Sujanan Parnohadiningrat said that his government would not pay pensions owed to some 7000 East Timorese because they had opted to relinquish their Indonesian citizenship by voting for independence last August.

Humanitarian crisis

Human rights and solidarity groups internationally are deeply concerned about the plight of the East Timorese refugees in West Timor and the failure of the UN and Western governments to place greater pressure on the Indonesian government and the TNI. "There has not been one peep out of the Howard government or the Labor opposition on the refugee problem in West Timor", Max Lane, national chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor, told Green Left Weekly.

"This is a major humanitarian crisis on our doorstep that the government is ignoring. It is reluctant to raise the issue with Jakarta, fearing that this will hamper moves to 'normalise' relations with the Wahid government", Lane said. "At the very minimum, the Howard government should immediately provide all planes, ships and vehicles at its disposal for the emergency evacuation of East Timorese refugees from West Timor to East Timor or Australia", he added.

A statement presented to the UN Decolonisation Committee by the International Federation of East Timor on July 5 noted: "The East Timorese people forcibly relocated to West Timor were never citizens of Indonesia under international law.

Rather, they were abducted from their home country (East Timor, legally under Portuguese administration) and taken, by invading foreign troops, into a neighboring country. Would the international community be so halfhearted if 100,000 Kuwaiti nationals, for example, were being held against their will by paramilitary forces in Iraq?"

In another petition presented to the committee, the Asia Pacific Coalition for East Timor stated: "The people of East Timor will never have lasting peace if about 15% of its entire people are still essentially imprisoned in hostile camps inside Indonesia. Self-determination will only be complete if these refugees are given a free and fearless choice of returning to their land ... We urge the international community and the Indonesian government to take decisive action to enable the majority of East Timorese who wish to return home to do so."

If the conditions faced by the East Timorese refugees do not improve quickly and they are not able to freely return to East Timor, they will continue to suffer violence from the militia gangs and political manipulation by the TNI.