Cyprus-Forum.com

[Paphitis]

I will just give you one example. Indonesia invaded East Timor and occupied it for decades slaughtering thousands of indigenous Portuguese. Australia could not give a damn, until oil and gas was discovered between Timor and Australia. All of a sudden, Australia decided to land its SAS in to secure a beach head. F-18s secured the airspace, F-111 were on standby to soften any targets, Orions were searching for Indonesian Submarines, and the a the Naval LSH and LST fleets were sent in. Dili Airport was secured and then troops were also air lifted in. The Indonesians fled from Timor and there were few skirmishes between them and us. East Timor was effectively liberated in a week with Australian forces securing the countryside village by village.

You're out of touch with reality!

The UN granted East Timor “self determination” and a subsequent referendum approved independence, and in conjunction with US pressure Indonesia abandoned East Timor. After Indonesia was gone, Australia moved in under UN guidance/permission to quell rival East Timorese factions struggling with the newfound independence.

Australia would’ve never dared to land in East Timor had the Indonesian military still been there so quit posting manufactured bollocks!

Stop talking nonsense my friend.

F-18s were buzzing them day and and night, the Naval fleet was anchored within their 12nm territorial seas, Orions were shadowing their subs, and the SAS landed at Dili International Airport and the harbour.

The Indonesians crapped their pants so all they could do was run away....

http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreig ... ention.htm

There was also some mediocre British and NZ SAS involvement under Australian command which is a prerequisite to ensuring military success it would seem!

It was a typical Australian text book military operation, executed to perfection and you know it....

READ YOUR LINK!

I HAVE!

International coverage of the election and the subsequent violence and withdrawal of the UN lead to mounting pressure to send in an International Force to stop the violence. Lead by Australia, a multinational force known as INTERFET (International Force East Timor) was formed. As dawn broke on the 20 Sept 1999, Operation Stabilise was to commence.

Whilst not officially in East Timor, special forces from Australia, New Zealand and the UK have played a major role from the start of Operation Stabilise. Special forces units involved in Operation Stabilise include -

Australian SASR
4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando)
NZ SAS
British SBS
British Royal Marine Commando Fleet Standby Rifle Troop

Whilst not part of the special forces group, other nations provided special forces contingents later on in the operation. They include -

Filipino Rangers (tasked to provide security for the Filipino assistance group)
Irish Rangers (attached to the NZ battalion group)
USMC Force Recon (tasked to provide personal protection to the US Ambassadors' visit)

From Day One, members of the Australian and New Zealand Special Air Special Regiment were the first to arrive in East Timor, securing the main airport in Dili for the main force to arrive. As they disembarked from their C-130H, SAS troopers immediately fanned out into the scrub, taking up fire positions. During this time they met no resistance from the Indonesian Marines and Air Force Police who were tasked to secure the airport.

Once the airport was secured the combined Australian, New Zealand and British Special Forces Group moved into Dili, securing Dili's Port. During that time, members of the NZ SAS disarmed one member of the pro-Indonesian militia.

Day Two saw the Australian SAS escort a UN convoy to the jungle town of Dare. As they arrived they were met with a joyous welcome from the refugees living there.

Back in Dili, the Special Forces Group along with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Parachute) were involved in the rescue of two journalists who were attacked by East Timorese members of the Indonesian Military (TNI). Facing the loss of their nation breaking away with Indonesia, the Timorese members of the TNI vented their anger towards the journalists.

By the end of the first week of the operation, much of Dili had been secured. However the rest of the country had yet been secured, in particular the western regions along the border. Intelligence reports received showed that armed militia were terrorising the people in the township of Come. A combined special ops force moved in by Blackhawks on last night. Utilising the element of surprise and sophisticated night vision equipment, 24 armed militia were captured without a shot fired.

A week later the Special Forces group was involved with escorting more than 115 militia back to West Timor border. Earlier that day, an armoured column comprising of a company of Gurkhas and the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment entered the town of Suai, capturing 115 militia as they tried to flee the town. The Special Forces group, mounted in Land Rovers was tasked to escort the captured militia back to the West Timor border. As they headed back from the border, the column was ambushed by a large group of Militia armed with a mixture of weapons including SKS, G-3 and Indonesian FNC Assault Rifles. Two Australian SAS troopers were wounded. One took a round through the neck, the other through his leg and wrist. Immediately the SF group initiated their counter ambush drills, killing two enemy and capturing nine.

Three days later an SAS observation post near the border was attacked. During the firefight, one militia was killed and several others wounded.

Ten days later after the incident in Suai, an Australian SAS patrol was contacted by a group of 20 militia near the border. The patrol immediately broke contact and rapidly made their way to the emergency LZ. As they moved, the militia continued to chase them up. Two Blackhawks, one that contained a SAS ready reaction team assisted in the hot extraction. Three militia were killed and three more wounded in the half and hour firefight.

In late October, INTERFET launched their last operation to occupy the last unsecured area of East Timor, the Oecussi enclave. As members of the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment conducted their amphibious landing on the enclave, Special Forces light teams in Blackhawks provided top cover fire support for the landing. As the first wave of infantry landed, they were met on the beach by SAS recon teams that have been in the enclave weeks before the landing, observing the enemy. The operation netted forty-captured militia without a shot fired.

Apart from the above operations, the Special Forces group provided personal protection to various VIPs, notably to the East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao as he returned to East Timor. Along with this, members of the Special Forces group have been actively liaising with Falintil since Day Two, providing intelligence on militia activity. Members of the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando) also provided security for the large media contingent operating in East Timor.

By early November, much of East Timor has been relatively quiet. It is expected that a new United Nations force will take over the role of INTERFET in February 2000. For almost 30 years now, both the Australian and NZ SAS, have relatively been quiet operationally apart from the odd peacekeeping mission. Operation Stabilise has brought them back into the picture and from the clear success of the operation, it has proven that they have still have what it takes even after 30 years.

http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreig ... ention.htm

[Paphitis]

Indonesian Armed Forces are commonly known as the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI).

http://www.tni.mil.id/

Go to sleep Get Real!

[roseandchan]

Now, I don't know if ex-pats leaving Cyprus are abanding their pets or not, but most I know, who have dogs etc love them to pieces and would only 'abandon' them if they really had to.

Why are they being left behind? I suppose if people are leaving because they are in dire financial circumstances, the cost of transporting a pet at this time is a serious consideration.

And where are these people returning to? They are unlikely to have homes in the UK to go to. So they will be returning to stay with relatives, in hotels, or renting an apartment/house, while they get their lives in order again. In all these cases, having a pet may well be out of the question, So, I would suggest that most pet owners leaving their pets here only do so because there is little option.

Has anyone any numbers on these 'abandoned pets?

Lana

i know here in the north the rescue is at breaking point.
in the last week i have had calls from people needing a kennel to put their dog at until a flight is sorted, loads of people are leaving and taking their dogs but i guess the same amount will be leaving their dog behind.

i can't believe that anyone would allow themselves to get that broke that they couldn't afford to take their dog home with them. at least in the south you can use the pets scheme.
we have to do quarantine coming from the north. 6 months quarantine costs quite a bit.

In some ways that is surprising; the Property Market in the north is quite as bad as it is in Pafos, so how can people afford to return to the UK when they have not sold their property, where they will be faced with additional accommodation costs, which must outweigh the difference in cost between living in the UK and living in Cyprus? Unless they are renting of course.

Bit of a Catch 22 situation...


Lana (tired cliches a speciality!)

The shelters in the South are in the same position right now in fact not only are the ex-pats adding to the misery of neglected animals the annual august holiday brings with it more abandoned animals, we see dogs and puppies dumped here in the village regularly, when we try and find a shelter they are always full, the onus then becomes on the finder to keep or house the animal until THEY can find it a home as many of us are unable to walk away. This is a ridiculous situation, it needs govt help at least to the shelters who do a great job in extremely bad circumstances. I could,nt do it, it must be heartbreaking.

The least I do is take a donation to our local one Argos, but they need a regular income to keep going, the govt I think donates approx €500 per YEAR, how can we thank them.

Cydra helps relocate abandoned and neglected dogs to Germany or Sweden last year Germany took 400 to re-home, our local vet has a lady who re-homes dogs to Sweden. So as these charities are soaring in this country and not all run by expats either, they deserve at least some monetary help. The SBA lads also built and paid for new shelters at Argos, so many are trying to sortout this dreadful neglect.

Then of course we have the cat problem Many are tring to cope with the spaying plan, hundreds of thousands of cats to deal with tourists feed them and leave, then authorities move in and poisen them So never ending. It needs money and more effort all round, the expats and other EU immigrants cannot be expected to take in all the strays any longer, we all have too many, so thats why the 'do something about it now' arguement is rising.

I cannot believe how FULL the shelters get here, anyone dumping their pets whatever nationality imho has no excuse whatsoever

No numbers other than Cydra and Argos if you look on their websites Lana, but hey who in authority would wish to admit that!!

I repeat the laws put in place in 2004 are never enforced, niether has anyone been prosecuted for poisoning, even though approx 10,000 are killed this way per year. And there is a law against this too. Now a new poison has hit the shores, Carbufarin, even more deadly.

The Green Party in Cyprus are also active in wanting this stamped out, they would always get my vote, they were the party that got Lannate banned.

In one year we have had three kittens, four dogs one tiny pup thrown out near us, then before we got near them an alsation and a doberman killed on the road In a tiny development of four properties but out on the fringes of the village. We call the Police now, guess what, they don,t come.......Total indifference, soon we will be coping with abandoned hunting dogs when they don,t perform, they have to be the cruellest cases I have seen.

The answer is govt money lots of it and this would at least help all the neglected animals and laws enforced strictly where possible. Cruelty to animals will always be there I know, but at least having a decent animal welfare system would allievate the problem, surely?

I too have been to the north, and seen exactly the same as here with strays.

Emotion does,nt help, niether name calling or comparisons, it needs money and law enforcement. And maybe the Cyprus Animal rescue Organistion set up or similar.

i totaly agree.
the trouble is the more the expats do for the stray animals the less either goverment does. here they get the rescue to keep kyrenia tidy of strays but elsewhere they don't care. just as it looks good for the tourists.
i wonder what message tourists take home when they see the strays and cruelty to animals here in cyprus?
i do think it has got a lot worse over the last few years.
i know how hard it is to rehome an animal here, there was an old guy who had cancer who wanted to rehome his dalmation and asked us for help. we tried and tried with no joy, then by chance hubby met a tc at the beach and got talking. he made contact with the guy who was dying and took on the dalmation. so its not only the expats that do their bit.
everyone i know has taken in at least one dog, there is just no more room at the inn, and something needs to be done.

[CBBB]

Strays should be be at least spayed, but preferably put to sleep (humanely, of course). We do not need a large population of feral cats and dogs!

[Get Real!]

READ YOUR LINK!

I HAVE!

For your info:

1. “pro-Indonesian militia”

2. “East Timorese members of the Indonesian Military (TNI).”

3. “armed militia”

4. “Militia armed with Indonesian FNC Assault Rifles.”


NB: None of the above are Indonesian.

You don’t understand what you’re reading.


Btw...

Number of troops - Indonesia:

Active: 410,000
Reserve: 400,000
Paramilitary: 207,000
Total: 1,017,000

[Milo]

Now, I don't know if ex-pats leaving Cyprus are abanding their pets or not, but most I know, who have dogs etc love them to pieces and would only 'abandon' them if they really had to.

Why are they being left behind? I suppose if people are leaving because they are in dire financial circumstances, the cost of transporting a pet at this time is a serious consideration.

And where are these people returning to? They are unlikely to have homes in the UK to go to. So they will be returning to stay with relatives, in hotels, or renting an apartment/house, while they get their lives in order again. In all these cases, having a pet may well be out of the question, So, I would suggest that most pet owners leaving their pets here only do so because there is little option.

Has anyone any numbers on these 'abandoned pets?

Lana

i know here in the north the rescue is at breaking point.
in the last week i have had calls from people needing a kennel to put their dog at until a flight is sorted, loads of people are leaving and taking their dogs but i guess the same amount will be leaving their dog behind.

i can't believe that anyone would allow themselves to get that broke that they couldn't afford to take their dog home with them. at least in the south you can use the pets scheme.
we have to do quarantine coming from the north. 6 months quarantine costs quite a bit.

In some ways that is surprising; the Property Market in the north is quite as bad as it is in Pafos, so how can people afford to return to the UK when they have not sold their property, where they will be faced with additional accommodation costs, which must outweigh the difference in cost between living in the UK and living in Cyprus? Unless they are renting of course.

Bit of a Catch 22 situation...


Lana (tired cliches a speciality!)

The shelters in the South are in the same position right now in fact not only are the ex-pats adding to the misery of neglected animals the annual august holiday brings with it more abandoned animals, we see dogs and puppies dumped here in the village regularly, when we try and find a shelter they are always full, the onus then becomes on the finder to keep or house the animal until THEY can find it a home as many of us are unable to walk away. This is a ridiculous situation, it needs govt help at least to the shelters who do a great job in extremely bad circumstances. I could,nt do it, it must be heartbreaking.

The least I do is take a donation to our local one Argos, but they need a regular income to keep going, the govt I think donates approx €500 per YEAR, how can we thank them.

Cydra helps relocate abandoned and neglected dogs to Germany or Sweden last year Germany took 400 to re-home, our local vet has a lady who re-homes dogs to Sweden. So as these charities are soaring in this country and not all run by expats either, they deserve at least some monetary help. The SBA lads also built and paid for new shelters at Argos, so many are trying to sortout this dreadful neglect.

Then of course we have the cat problem Many are tring to cope with the spaying plan, hundreds of thousands of cats to deal with tourists feed them and leave, then authorities move in and poisen them So never ending. It needs money and more effort all round, the expats and other EU immigrants cannot be expected to take in all the strays any longer, we all have too many, so thats why the 'do something about it now' arguement is rising.

I cannot believe how FULL the shelters get here, anyone dumping their pets whatever nationality imho has no excuse whatsoever

No numbers other than Cydra and Argos if you look on their websites Lana, but hey who in authority would wish to admit that!!

I repeat the laws put in place in 2004 are never enforced, niether has anyone been prosecuted for poisoning, even though approx 10,000 are killed this way per year. And there is a law against this too. Now a new poison has hit the shores, Carbufarin, even more deadly.

The Green Party in Cyprus are also active in wanting this stamped out, they would always get my vote, they were the party that got Lannate banned.

In one year we have had three kittens, four dogs one tiny pup thrown out near us, then before we got near them an alsation and a doberman killed on the road In a tiny development of four properties but out on the fringes of the village. We call the Police now, guess what, they don,t come.......Total indifference, soon we will be coping with abandoned hunting dogs when they don,t perform, they have to be the cruellest cases I have seen.

The answer is govt money lots of it and this would at least help all the neglected animals and laws enforced strictly where possible. Cruelty to animals will always be there I know, but at least having a decent animal welfare system would allievate the problem, surely?

I too have been to the north, and seen exactly the same as here with strays.

Emotion does,nt help, niether name calling or comparisons, it needs money and law enforcement. And maybe the Cyprus Animal rescue Organistion set up or similar.

i totaly agree.
the trouble is the more the expats do for the stray animals the less either goverment does. here they get the rescue to keep kyrenia tidy of strays but elsewhere they don't care. just as it looks good for the tourists.
i wonder what message tourists take home when they see the strays and cruelty to animals here in cyprus?
i do think it has got a lot worse over the last few years.
i know how hard it is to rehome an animal here, there was an old guy who had cancer who wanted to rehome his dalmation and asked us for help. we tried and tried with no joy, then by chance hubby met a tc at the beach and got talking. he made contact with the guy who was dying and took on the dalmation. so its not only the expats that do their bit.
everyone i know has taken in at least one dog, there is just no more room at the inn, and something needs to be done.

I really don,t think many tourists do know, although the dead dogs on the motorway from the airport are being shifted faster before the coaches come down Maybe a peaceful protest at the opening of the new airport

Link to a petition to end animal cruelty here, signed so far by many here in Cyprus and lots from other countries :- http://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/animal ... -in-cyprus

Link to the most recent protest in Nicosia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3FefztSIH8

I think these protests should be in the tourist areas that way they might get more attention

[Paphitis]

READ YOUR LINK!

I HAVE!

For your info:

1. “pro-Indonesian militia”

2. “East Timorese members of the Indonesian Military (TNI).”

3. “armed militia”

4. “Militia armed with Indonesian FNC Assault Rifles.”


NB: None of the above are Indonesian.

You don’t understand what you’re reading.

Yes you wombat!

They were East Timorese members of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

East Timorese members of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

There were also Indonesian militia groups with Indonesian TNI officers.

They were easily nuetralised within the first week.

[Paphitis]

Now, I don't know if ex-pats leaving Cyprus are abanding their pets or not, but most I know, who have dogs etc love them to pieces and would only 'abandon' them if they really had to.

Why are they being left behind? I suppose if people are leaving because they are in dire financial circumstances, the cost of transporting a pet at this time is a serious consideration.

And where are these people returning to? They are unlikely to have homes in the UK to go to. So they will be returning to stay with relatives, in hotels, or renting an apartment/house, while they get their lives in order again. In all these cases, having a pet may well be out of the question, So, I would suggest that most pet owners leaving their pets here only do so because there is little option.

Has anyone any numbers on these 'abandoned pets?

Lana

i know here in the north the rescue is at breaking point.
in the last week i have had calls from people needing a kennel to put their dog at until a flight is sorted, loads of people are leaving and taking their dogs but i guess the same amount will be leaving their dog behind.

i can't believe that anyone would allow themselves to get that broke that they couldn't afford to take their dog home with them. at least in the south you can use the pets scheme.
we have to do quarantine coming from the north. 6 months quarantine costs quite a bit.

In some ways that is surprising; the Property Market in the north is quite as bad as it is in Pafos, so how can people afford to return to the UK when they have not sold their property, where they will be faced with additional accommodation costs, which must outweigh the difference in cost between living in the UK and living in Cyprus? Unless they are renting of course.

Bit of a Catch 22 situation...


Lana (tired cliches a speciality!)

The shelters in the South are in the same position right now in fact not only are the ex-pats adding to the misery of neglected animals the annual august holiday brings with it more abandoned animals, we see dogs and puppies dumped here in the village regularly, when we try and find a shelter they are always full, the onus then becomes on the finder to keep or house the animal until THEY can find it a home as many of us are unable to walk away. This is a ridiculous situation, it needs govt help at least to the shelters who do a great job in extremely bad circumstances. I could,nt do it, it must be heartbreaking.

The least I do is take a donation to our local one Argos, but they need a regular income to keep going, the govt I think donates approx €500 per YEAR, how can we thank them.

Cydra helps relocate abandoned and neglected dogs to Germany or Sweden last year Germany took 400 to re-home, our local vet has a lady who re-homes dogs to Sweden. So as these charities are soaring in this country and not all run by expats either, they deserve at least some monetary help. The SBA lads also built and paid for new shelters at Argos, so many are trying to sortout this dreadful neglect.

Then of course we have the cat problem Many are tring to cope with the spaying plan, hundreds of thousands of cats to deal with tourists feed them and leave, then authorities move in and poisen them So never ending. It needs money and more effort all round, the expats and other EU immigrants cannot be expected to take in all the strays any longer, we all have too many, so thats why the 'do something about it now' arguement is rising.

I cannot believe how FULL the shelters get here, anyone dumping their pets whatever nationality imho has no excuse whatsoever

No numbers other than Cydra and Argos if you look on their websites Lana, but hey who in authority would wish to admit that!!

I repeat the laws put in place in 2004 are never enforced, niether has anyone been prosecuted for poisoning, even though approx 10,000 are killed this way per year. And there is a law against this too. Now a new poison has hit the shores, Carbufarin, even more deadly.

The Green Party in Cyprus are also active in wanting this stamped out, they would always get my vote, they were the party that got Lannate banned.

In one year we have had three kittens, four dogs one tiny pup thrown out near us, then before we got near them an alsation and a doberman killed on the road In a tiny development of four properties but out on the fringes of the village. We call the Police now, guess what, they don,t come.......Total indifference, soon we will be coping with abandoned hunting dogs when they don,t perform, they have to be the cruellest cases I have seen.

The answer is govt money lots of it and this would at least help all the neglected animals and laws enforced strictly where possible. Cruelty to animals will always be there I know, but at least having a decent animal welfare system would allievate the problem, surely?

I too have been to the north, and seen exactly the same as here with strays.

Emotion does,nt help, niether name calling or comparisons, it needs money and law enforcement. And maybe the Cyprus Animal rescue Organistion set up or similar.

i totaly agree.
the trouble is the more the expats do for the stray animals the less either goverment does. here they get the rescue to keep kyrenia tidy of strays but elsewhere they don't care. just as it looks good for the tourists.
i wonder what message tourists take home when they see the strays and cruelty to animals here in cyprus?
i do think it has got a lot worse over the last few years.
i know how hard it is to rehome an animal here, there was an old guy who had cancer who wanted to rehome his dalmation and asked us for help. we tried and tried with no joy, then by chance hubby met a tc at the beach and got talking. he made contact with the guy who was dying and took on the dalmation. so its not only the expats that do their bit.
everyone i know has taken in at least one dog, there is just no more room at the inn, and something needs to be done.

I really don,t think many tourists do know, although the dead dogs on the motorway from the airport are being shifted faster before the coaches come down Maybe a peaceful protest at the opening of the new airport

Link to a petition to end animal cruelty here, signed so far by many here in Cyprus and lots from other countries :- http://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/animal ... -in-cyprus

Milo, how are you today?

[Get Real!]

They were easily nuetralised within the first week.

So how many of these did you "neutralize"?

Number of troops - Indonesia:

Active: 410,000
Reserve: 400,000
Paramilitary: 207,000
Total: 1,017,000

Go back to sleep Paphitis, and pray to your 12 imaginary Gods that Indonesia never marches in Australia's direction!

[Paphitis]

They were easily nuetralised within the first week.

So how many of these did you "neutralize"?

Number of troops - Indonesia:

Active: 410,000
Reserve: 400,000
Paramilitary: 207,000
Total: 1,017,000

Go back to sleep Paphitis, and pray to your 12 imaginary Gods that Indonesia never marches in Australia's direction!

You don't think the TNI is a serious threat to the ADF do you.

Mate, the ADF is one of the best equipped Armed Forces in the world, and that is a fact.

the Indonesians pissed themselves, once the Navy was parking destroyers 5 miles off Dili weeks before the invasion occured.