Dili, May 30 (Xinhua) -- An Indonesian Air Force Hercules aircraft left
here on Tuesday carrying the last batch of 98 Indonesian citizens who preferred
to return home to avoid the communal conflicts that have been raging in the tiny
country lately.
"There are no more evacuees at the Indonesian Embassy in Dili. So we will
stop the evacuation process," the embassy's senior liaison officer and Senior
(Police) Commissioner Minton Mariati Simanjuntak told reporters at Comoro
Airport, Dili.
The Air Force Hercules had taken out a total of 1,379 Indonesian citizens
from Dili to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, sinceMay 27, 2006.
Indonesian Ambassador to East Timor Ahmad Bey Sofyan said that the embassy
would remain open and that he would remain at his postin Dili.
"We have not decided to vacate the embassy as we are still closely
monitoring the current situation in this country," Sofyan said.
"Today, people plan to stage a rally in front of the (Timor-Leste) prime
minister (Mari Alkatiri)'s office to demand his resignation. Up to this morning,
burning and looting continued as people are facing starvation," Senior
Commissioner Simanjuntak said.
The skirmishes erupted last month in Timor-Leste after some 600 members of
the tiny country's 1,400-strong military were dismissed.The renegade soldiers
were deserted after complaining about discrimination because they came from the
western part of the newly established country.
In a desperate move to stop the violence, Timor-Leste invited peacekeepers
from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal tohelp restore calm. Enditem