East Timor: Militiaman's Death a Warning to Infiltrators, Says UN Chief 2 Aug-12:05

The killing of a militiaman by UN peacekeepers along the border with Indonesia Wednesday would serve as a warning to armed infiltrators, East Timor's UN administrator said in Dili.

"Those who dare to infiltrate East Timorese territory will repent or have repented," Sergio Vieira de Mello told Lusa, commenting on the most recent border clash, the third in little more than one week.

In contrast to earlier incidents, he added, the Wednesday firefight near Maliana appeared to have come from "our initiative to engage a small group of infiltrators, presumably militias."

While acknowledging he was "worried" about security along the border, Vieira de Mello said he was optimistic about future developments.

Another meeting had taken place Tuesday at the frontier between peacekeeping commander Lt. Gen. Boonsrang Niumpradit of Thailand and the chief of Indonesian forces in West Timor, Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, he said.

"I am hopeful that all those (security) measures that we have been talking about for months will be implemented," Vieira de Mello added.

In a related development, members of the West Timor provincial parliament in Kupang called on the Indonesian military earlier this week to transfer army units that had served in East Timor.

Predominantly composed of East Timorese recruits, the territorial units, particularly Battalion 744, have been linked to clashes with local residents and harassment of East Timorese refugees who want to be repatriated.

SAS -Lusa

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