Japan should pressure Indonesia to disarm militia groups still operating in West Timor and closely monitor Jakarta's investigation into human rights violations committed in East Timor, an East Timorese nongovernmental organization worker said in a recent public meeting in Tokyo.
Members of the Indonesian army's Strategic Reserve Command and Kopassus Special Forces are still giving support to militias and secretly training them at a base in Betun, West Timor, said Mary Barreto of the Communication Forum for East Timorese Women, an NGO aiding victims of sexual violence.
She said that many Indonesian soldiers who formerly served in East Timor are still stationed close to the West Timor border and that they have detailed knowledge of East Timor's geography, which could be used to plan future cross-border guerrilla attacks.