Atambua – Indonesian military and police personnel assigned to the border regions shared by Indonesia and East Timor have shown reformed attitudes in accordance with current era of reforms, a local legislator has said.
"We notice that the Indonesian military and police personnel assigned to the border areas have begun to show the principle of reforms as they now give priority to the people's interest," chairman of the Belu district legislative council, Herman Yoseph Loe Mau, said here Sunday.
Herman said Indonesian military and police personnel showed encouraging attitudes to the people in Belu district, East Nusa Tenggara province, when they were safeguarding the elections of Belu district head and deputy head for the 2004-2009 period on December 2, 2003.
The people in Belu welcomed the current security paradigm as the Indonesian military and police personnel gave priority to the principles of democracy, Herman said.
"Likewise, journalists and observers admitted that the democratic process has proceeded well and the security paradigm with a nuance of reform has taken place," he said, adding that the military and police have enabled the people to gather without any anarchic acts.
In addition, he said, the Indonesian military and police have been able to prove that the law and order situation in Belu district which many quarters have considered as prone to conflicts is now conducive to all activities.
All parties have to admit that the security paradigm applied by Chief of Belu district police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Agus Nugroho, Chief of the Belu district military command Lt.Col. Ganip Warsito and Chief of the Security Task Force on the East Nusa Tenggara-East Timor border Col. Djoko Sutiono has produced concrete results, he said.
Djoko Sutiono said over the weekend that the Security Task Force has been guarding 57 points along the 316.7-kilometer border-line shared by Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province and East Timor.
Sutiono pointed out that every security point has one control post guarded by 25-30 personnel.
He said the East Nusa Tenggara-East Timor border extends from an area in East Nusa Tenggara which directly borders on Oecusse district (East Timor) to Covalima district (also East Timor).
Until now, Sutiono said, the Indonesian territory on the border areas is still safeguarded by the Indonesian military personnel in an adequate number although the security situation there is considered conducive.
Such a measure is taken because the border line is relatively long and has many areas which are frequently made by certain people to cross illegally from East Nusa Tenggara to East Timor or vice versa, he said.
"The number of personnel guarding the border is actually big but there are still many people both Indonesians and East Timorese illegally crossing for different reasons and interests," he said.