DATE=10/7/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=TIMOR / PEACEKEEPERS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254753
BYLINE=JOE COCHRANE
DATELINE=JAKARTA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The commander of the multinational
peacekeeping force in East Timor is rejecting
criticism that his troops are deploying too
slowly to restore order, so relief efforts can be
established. As Joe Cochrane reports from
Jakarta, peacekeepers are spreading out over
rocky terrain to thwart attacks by pro-Indonesian
militias.
TEXT: In his latest defense of the pace of
deploying some five-thousand multinational
troops, Australian Major General Peter Cosgrove
dismissed criticism of the pace of the operation
as "rubbish."
General Cosgrove, leader of the International
Force in East Timor - or INTERFET - says peace-
keepers are moving quickly in harsh terrain to
establish security for tens of thousands of
hiding refugees.
He says if INTERFET does not move what he
termed, a "critical mass" of troops into insecure
areas, it will tempt the militias to attack.
Some foreign aid workers have complained that
INTERFET is moving at a snail's pace (too
slowly), delaying much-needed humanitarian aid
operations and the return of refugees.
Critics say many areas where peacekeepers have
not allowed aid deliveries for security reasons
are now safe or could be secured with a minimum
numbers of troops.
General Cosgrove's defense of his operation comes
a day after peacekeepers killed two militiamen,
during an ambush on INTERFET forces near East
Timor's volatile border with West Timor. Two
Australian soldiers were slightly wounded in the
attack.
INTERFET is setting up bases near the border,
amid reports that militiamen are massing on the
other side, preparing to fight.
In Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali
Alatas pledged the government would not allow
the militias to operate from West Timor, to
attack peacekeepers or civilians.
INTERFET's deputy commander, Major General Songkitti
Chakkabatr of Thailand, arrived in East Timor Thursday
with the first of some 15-hundred Thai troops who will
join the operation. (Signed)
NEB/JC/FC
07-Oct-1999 06:43 AM EDT (07-Oct-1999 1043 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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