17 October 2009

Border Dispute, Oekusi Enclave - 60,000 Timorese Inside Indonesia


Thursday, 15 October 2009 Internet Exclusive: Border Dispute, Oekusi Enclave - 60,000 Timorese Inside Indonesia - On 15th October 2009 Tempo Semanal sources within the Government of Timor-Leste revealed that on 12 October 2009 4 TNI officers and 4 paramilitary personnel in addition to one civilian entered the Cruz area of the southern most Passabe sub-District in the isolated Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste enclave Oekusi.

When the central government of Timor-Leste only heard about the problem 3 days after it had happened it held an emergency meeting on 15 October 2009. The acting Prime Minister (Vice Prime Minister Jose "Lugu" Guterres, Acting Secretary of State for Security (Secretary of State for Defence, Julio Tomas Pinto), Secretary of State for the Special Region of Oekusi, Jorge Teme, and the Secretary of State for the Council of Minister, Agio Pereira participated in the crisis meeting.

The 4 TNI were carrying M`16 semi-automatic assault rifles and the paramilitaries were unarmed, and the civilian (suspected to be former 1999 era pro-autonomy Sakunar Militia). They were carrying the Indonesian Mera Putih (Red and White) national flag. Full original text.

Image from Tempo Semanal: UN CONFIDENTIAL MAP (2005) of the disputed area, obtained by Tempo Semanal

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