Kupang – Peace has been restored to the West Timor town of Oesau following the July 1 mass riot in which remnants of the feared pro-Jakarta militia gangs from East Timor torched 16 houses and burnt down barns containing dozens of ill-fated cows.

East Nusa Tenggara (West Timor) Deputy Police Chief, Senior Superintendent Saji Aldjairi, yesterday said the perpetrators of the unrest will be brought to court. "If there were torched houses, then there must be suspects. At this point I cannot reveal how many of them have already been investigated. But I assure you that people have been questioned over the riot," he said in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara.

The Oesau unrest was triggered when children of the militia thugs living at Tuapukan refugee camp started fighting with local children. Adults quickly joined the fray, and the militia gangsters inflicted the most damage, possibly due to their experience and training in carrying out savage attacks and arson.

Apart from the burnt houses and cattle, there were reports that many houses were looted. The militia bandits then blockaded roads, using logs and boulders, to prevent vehicles from moving between East Timor and the West Timor towns of Kupang, Oesau and Tuapukan.

The blockade, which lasted for a week, meant that people wishing to travel from Kupang to the East Timor border town of Atambua had to take a detour that added another 50 kilometers onto the journey.

Police finally got around to taking away the barricades late last week. "The barricades were removed by the Army and police in a joint operation. Since Friday, the trans-East Timor road has been officially clear from the barricades and is back to normal," said Sergeant Major Simon Satu.

He was speaking on Saturday at a ceremony during which PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia presented humanitarian aid for the victims of recent floods in Belu district.