Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The thousands of East Timorese still languishing in West Timor's camps are not free to choose to return to home as they have been intimidated by pro-Indonesian militia during a registration programme to determine their future, say aid workers and international observers.

Indonesian authorities say that initial results from a survey of 90,000 refugees, asking if they want to return to East Timor or be resettled in Indonesia, show that 97.65 per cent want to remain. The registration is the first step in allowing the refugees to be repatriated or resettled in Indonesia.

However non-government and international agencies say the results have been skewed by the threat of violence, a charge that Indonesian officials deny. "I'm not surprised the majority opted to stay in Indonesia. They live in camps controlled by the militia and are daily subjected to intimidation," said Ms Ana Gomes, the Portuguese Ambassador to Indonesia.

"The observers saw many militias in the camps, and then they heard refugees absolutely changing their speech and behaviour as soon as the militias came over," she said. She said many of the refugees told the Portuguese observer they wanted to return to East Timor, but then changed their positions as soon as militias were in earshot.

A spokesman from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mr Bernard Kerblat, said he would not be surprised if the refugees were intimidated. However the UNHCR had not sent observers to the registration because it would have been impossible to judge in one day whether it was carried out free and fairly, he said.

Around 250,000 refugees were herded into West Timor after a referendum that confirmed East Timor's independence two years ago, while the army-backed militia went on a rampage destroying most of East Timor's infrastructure. Other non-government groups also say that the refugees have been intimidated and that militias have been conducting a campaign of misinformation.

In one camp, East Timorese were warned by the militia leader that they would be kidnapped if they chose to return to home, said a spokesman from the Centre for Internally Displaced People's Services in West Timor. Refugees were also misled into thinking that the registration was another referendum and that if most of them chose Indonesia, then East Timor would again become part of Indonesia, said the spokesman.

Pro-Indonesian militia commanders who control the refugee camps do not want the refugees to return to East Timor because they are a source of food and money, say aid agencies. The agencies are concerned that the small percentage of refugees who choose to return to East Timor will be in danger. However Indonesian authorities have given no definite timetable for their return.

"The biggest concern now is not to expose them to retaliation," said Ms Gomes. However, she said that the registration at least informed the refugees that they could return home.