Passabe, East Timor – Foreign Minister Josi Ramos Horta said Thursday that recent incidents on the border between East Timor and Indonesian West Timor in Dili's Oecussi enclave, were carried out by former anti-independence militiamen.
Speaking in Passabe, in the south of Oecussi, where most of the border incursions have taken place, Ramos Horta described the incidents as "serious" and as having been perpetrated by "bandits".
Lusa has seen a document prepared by the United Nations mission in Timor, UNOTIL, which says eight violent cross-border incidents have taken place in Oecussi alone since Sept. 7. Another occurred Wednesday, but without shots being fired or stones thrown, as happened in the other recorded incursions.
Pointing the blame firmly at Indonesians, some of whom were born in Timor and who fled Oecussi in 1999 as they belonged to pro-Jakarta militia gangs, Ramos Horta said it is in Indonesia's interests to resolve the violent and unauthorized border activity.
An Australian newspaper reported this week that members of the once feared "Okto" militia were behind the recent problems in Oecussi. Dili security officials say the gangs are mainly involved in smuggling activities between West and East Timor.
Ramos Horta said the incidents "impact much more on the interests, credibility and good name of the Indonesian state than they do on Timor".
One avenue to improve border security in Oecussi is to change the behavior of the Indonesian military, said Ramos Horta, adding that he believed Jakarta's Armed Forces "are not doing all they can".
The Jakarta authorities are responsible for the frontier and should be much more "rigorous", he said, noting that a nearby Indonesian border post was only 1 meter from the border, rather than about the 500 meters desirable.
Ramos Horta had traveled to Oecussi with other senior Dili officials and the UN's special envoy to Timor, Sukehiro Hasegawa, for talks with Indonesian officials and military commanders on ways to ease tensions created by the recent violent incidents. Dili-based foreign diplomats had also traveled to witness the talks.
Timor's top diplomat said he was aware that a high level security meting took place Wednesday in Jakarta to discuss the frontier problems in Oecussi, adding he was "convinced the situation will be stabilized in coming days".
The Dili authorities remain confident that a definitive border accord will be reached with Jakarta by the end of the year, said Ramos Horta.