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Subject: Military, Police Called to Be on New Year's Alert
MILY, POLICE CALLED ON TO BE ON ALERT AGAINST SMUGGLING BEFORE NEW YEAR
December 28, 2003 11:49pm Antara
Atambua, E Nusa Tenggara, Dec 28 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian military and
police commissioned on the border shared by East Nusa Tenggara province
and East Timor have been called on to stay alert against possible
smuggling of basic necessities to the nascent state on the occasion of New
Year.
"Usually close to New Year, demand for basic necessities will rise
and there may be an increase in smuggling activities through the East Nusa
Tenggara-East Timor border," Deputy Chairman of the Belu district
legislative council, Blasius Joseph Manek, said here Sunday.
Blasius made the remark in view of the situation in the border areas
where a number of market places had been closed following the shooting of
Vegas Biliato (an ex-East Timorese) on October 19, 2003.
According to Blasius, basic necessities might have been smuggled from
Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province to East Timor before Christmas Day
on December 25, 2003, and such criminal activity might continue toward New
Year 2004.
"East Timorese living in areas near the borderline like Balibo,
Maliana, Lebos, Salele and Tilomar, used to get their basic necessities
from markets on the border areas. Now the closure of the markets has
triggered smuggling activities as the demand for basic nacessities has
increased," he said.
Blasius suggested the Indonesian military and police personnel assigned
on the border areas to tighten control, particularly on illegal trade
activities.
He reminded that the tolerance given to illegal traders engaged in
small-scale smuggling of basic necessities could be an early support for
greater scale smuggling activities.
Blasius said his side would establish coordination with Chief of the
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
Setiono in taking precautionary measures against smuggling activities.
Such measures should be taken as those who are in need of basic
neccesities on the occasion of New Year are not only East Timorese but
Belu residents as well, he said.
"I also call on the authorities in Belu not to raise prices of
basic necessities and hope that basic necessities are not smuggled to East
Timor," he said.
East Timor, a former Indonesian province, officially seceded from the
archipelagic country in October, 1999, as a consequence of the
pro-independence camp's victory in the United Nations-organized popular
consultation held on August 30, 1999.
The territory integrated into Indonesia in 1976 but the United Nations
never recognized the integration process.
(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)
Copyright © 2003 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.
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