President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia told the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, yesterday of a bold - and previously unannounced - plan to solve the issue of refugees in West Timor.
Mr Wahid said on Saturday next, he and East Timor leader, Mr Xanana Gusmao, along with the head of the UN administration in East Timor, Mr Sergio Vieira de Mellor, and possibly the Australian Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, would make a symbolic visit to the largest refugee camp in West Timor.
"He told me they would initiate a registration process for the 150,000 refugees who would be asked if they wanted to stay or go back to East Timor," Mr Ahern said. "Those who wished to go back would be given protection; those who wished to stay would be relocated in more satisfactory accommodation."
UN officials in East Timor expressed surprise and scepticism at Mr Wahid's comments, made to the Taoiseach in a private meeting on the fringes of an Asia-Europe summit (ASEM) in the South Korean capital, Seoul. Contacted by telephone in the capital Dili, a senior UN official said last night he had not heard about such a proposal.
Two days ago, the UN Human Rights Commissioner for Refugees in East Timor rejected Indonesian claims it was safe for aid workers to return to West Timor, saying militia gangs were still active and holding refugees hostage. Aid agencies withdrew staff after a militia gang killed three UNHCR workers in West Timor on September 6th.
Tens of thousands of East Timorese were driven from their homes by militia gangs last year after the territory voted for independence in a UN referendum, and over 100,000 refugees are still forced to live in squalid camps in West Timor controlled by the militias.
AFP reports from Jakarta:
Indonesian police said yesterday they were considering shifting a notorious pro-Indonesian East Timorese militia leader, Mr Eurico Guterres, from police detention to house arrest next week.
Mr Guterres was arrested in Jakarta on October 4th for ordering his men to take back weapons they had surrendered during an arms handover ceremony in the town of Atambua, on the border of West and East Timor on September 24th.
If found guilty of inciting people to carry out crimes against the government, Mr Guterres faces a maximum of six years in prison. His lawyers have since sued the police for unlawful arrest and asked that their client be released from detention.
Mr Guterres was the leader of the formerly Dili-based Aitarak (Thorn) militia group and the deputy commander of the overall East Timor militia forces.