| Former commander of a East Timorese pro-Jakarta militia group (PPI) Joao da Silva Tavares and his almost 35,000 followers are expected to return home to East Timor soon. Tavares disclosed his intention during a secret meeting with chief of the Udayana Regional Military Command overseeing Bali, East and West Nusa Tenggara provinces, Maj. Gen. Willem T. da Costa, in the East Nusa Tenggara town of Atambua on Thursday. "Tavares seriously wants to return home. He plans to return to East Timor this month, but the East Timor government is still considering his demand for a transit camp for former PPI members and refugees," da Costa told the media. During the meeting, da Costa offered corn seeds, rice seeds, hoes and tractors to Tavares and his followers to start afresh in East Timor. Tavares said separately that the arrangement to return home was a final decision. "For sure, I and my supporters will return home soon. We shall await the results of negotiation and reconciliation in the next few days," he said. |