UN mission continues efforts to bring home East Timor's refugees

More than 200 refugees arrived today in East Timor for a "come and see" visit as part of the on-going process of reconciliation, the United Nations Transitional Administration in the territory (UNTAET) said.

The group was welcomed at the border town of Batugade, Bobonaro District, by UNTAET Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran, independence leader Xanana Gusmão, Prosecutor General Longuinhos Monteiro and dozens of the refugees' relatives.

The family members travelled from Aileu and Manatuto Districts for the meeting at the border, and will now accompany some of the refugees to their hometowns for a three-day visit. Many of the refugees have already decided not to return to the camps in West Timor, Indonesia, according to UNTAET.

The meeting was coordinated by UNTAET, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of the Mission's efforts to bring refugees back.

A similar visit took place in December 2000, when a group of more than 150 refugees from West Timor camps visited East Timor for one-month during the Christmas holidays, UNTAET said. The majority of them have since then returned to East Timor. Over the past two years, dozens of smaller visits have also been organized.