Dili – About 19,000 East Timorese refugees have returned home in the first five months of this year, the UN said Friday.

This figure is more than the total number of returns for all of last year, said Jake Morland, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The UN estimates that more than 30,000 East Timorese refugees remain in camps on the western, Indonesian-held side of the island.

Over 250,000 people fled or were forced by pro-Jakarta militias into West Timor following East Timor's vote for independence from Indonesia in August 1999.

An interim UN administration governed the country until last month, when the new nation gained full independence.

The world body has said that any refugees who choose to remain in West Timor after the end of 2002 will be considered Indonesian citizens.

Morland also noted that the UN was trying to organize a meeting between Joao Tavares, a prominent former militia commander, and East Timorese government officials.

The meeting, scheduled to take place in the border town of Batugade Tuesday, is aimed at persuading Tavares and 8,000 of his followers to return home.

The East Timorese parliament is currently considering legislation that would grant amnesties for former militiamen who committed minor crimes during the violence in 1999.