Xinhua General News Service

May 28, 2007

Indonesia reopens border with Timor-Leste

JAKARTA

The Indonesian military has reopened the land border with Timor-Leste, after a three-month closure due to political tensions in the neighbor, an officer said Monday.

"In accordance with instructions form the president and the military commander, we have reopened the border since yesterday ( Sunday)," Maj. Gen. Syaiful Rizal, chief of the Udayana Military Command overseeing eastern Indonesia, was quoted by the national Antara news agency as saying.

The traffic of people and goods has returned to normal, he said.

Indonesia shares land border with half-island Timor-Leste in East Nusa Tenggara province.

The government ordered the border closure amid violent rallies and potential conflicts involving policemen and military officers in Timor-Leste that drew the presence of the Australia-led international peacekeeping operations.

"We reopened the border because the situation (in Timor-Leste) is now safe," said Syaiful.