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Refugees told to vacate camps by September 1

Jakarta Post - August 13, 2002

Jakarta – East Timorese refugees are to vacate camps across East Nusa Tenggara by August 31, the deadline set for them to leave the shelter and receive government assistance to return to East Timor or resettle in the province, the provincial administration said on Monday.

Vice Governor Johanis Pake Pani, speaking from the provincial capital of Kupang, said all camps must be vacated by September 1. "By that date, refugees choosing to stay in the province and become Indonesian citizens will have to leave the camps and join our resettlement programs," he said.

Pake Pani said the local administration had built 10,000 homes in several resettlement areas in West Timor, Flores and Sumba. However, he did not say what actions the government would take against those who chose to stay on in the Indonesian province, but refused to join the government-sponsored resettlement program or return to East Timor.

"We don't have a decision yet for those cases," Pake Pani said. He said the Indonesian government would continue assisting refugees in returning to their homeland until late this month.

After August, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization of Migrants (IOM) will take full charge of the repatriation program until December.

The central government has made August 31 the deadline for all East Timorese refugees to leave camps and return home under the government-sponsored repatriation program.

Each family choosing to return to East Timor before September will receive Rp 750,000 in cash assistance from the Indonesian government. "In line with the central government's decision, the deadline to facilitate the repatriation and provide funds guaranteeing the lives of refugees will end on August 31, 2002.

"The policy that handles refugees will shift them to economic empowerment programs to be carried out in resettlement areas," Pake Pane said.

Some 250,000 East Timorese were forced to leave East Nusa Tenggara after their homeland voted for independence in August 1999. Most refugees have returned home.