Abilio apologizes to nation<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares
\nyesterday apologized to the nation for the behavior of a group of
\nEast Timorese who staged a protest at the American embassy just
\nas Indonesia was to host a major international event last week.<\/p>\n
\"On behalf of the people of East Timor, I apologize to the
\nnation, and to President Soeharto, because their behavior has
\ntainted the nation,\" Abilio told reporters after meeting with the
\nhead of state at the State Palace.<\/p>\n
\"At a time when we are hosting an international event, they
\nshould have upheld the good name of Indonesia,\" he said in
\nreference to last week's meeting of 18 leaders of the Asia
\nPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.<\/p>\n
Twenty-nine East Timorese scaled the American embassy fence on
\nNov. 12 and vowed to stage a sit-in until their demands were met.<\/p>\n
One of them fell ill on Sunday and was later admitted to a
\nhospital.<\/p>\n
Portugal<\/p>\n
The other 28 were still at the embassy's parking lot as of
\nyesterday though a solution seemed imminent. The students have
\nannounced that they want to go to Portugal, which ruled East
\nTimor for over four centuries until 1975.<\/p>\n
The group's spokesman said they were going to Portugal not as
\nasylum seekers but as Portuguese citizens. Portugal had offered
\nthem asylum earlier. It was not immediately clear, however, how
\nand when they will leave for Portugal.<\/p>\n
Portuguese interests in Indonesia are looked after by the
\nNetherlands embassy in the absence of diplomatic relations
\nbetween the two countries. The U.S. embassy yesterday was
\npreparing the travel documents for the protesters with the local
\noffice of the International Red Cross.<\/p>\n
On a separate occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas
\nyesterday said the government had done all it could in trying to
\nresolve the embassy occupation.<\/p>\n
\"It is not our problem. They're in American territory,\" Alatas
\nsaid after reporting to President Soeharto, also at the State
\nPalace. \"We've given our word that they will not be touched if
\nthey leave. If they want to leave the country, we won't stop
\nthem. What else can we do?\"<\/p>\n
He said the protesters were making unrealistic demands, such
\nas the release of Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao who is serving a
\n17-year jail term for heading an armed rebellion in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Lowest level<\/p>\n
Asked whether the government was communicating with the
\nprotesters, he said yes, \"at the very lowest level\".<\/p>\n
The protesters demanded to see either U.S. President Bill
\nClinton or Secretary of State Warren Christopher, both in town
\nlast week for the APEC meeting. Later, they wanted to see Alatas.<\/p>\n
\"What's the purpose of asking to speak with a foreign
\nminister? They're not that important. They've had dialog with
\nLopez da Cruz, and as if that wasn't enough, they've had dialog
\nwith members of the National Commission on Human Rights,\" Alatas
\nsaid. Lopez is a respected senior East Timor politician who has
\nbeen appointed as ambassador-at-large on East Timor issues.<\/p>\n
Abilio said most of the protesters are \"tramps\", perhaps two
\nor three are students but they never attended classes, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them are laborers who didn't make it at school, got
\nfrustrated and then escaped to the cheap world of politics.\"<\/p>\n
The few students who took part in the demonstration are acting
\nirresponsibly because they have been given an opportunity to
\nstudy but instead turned their back on the nation, he added.<\/p>\n
Alatas said these youths had been treated well, given
\nscholarships and various other facilities. \"I don't understand
\nwhy they're doing this.\"<\/p>\n
Journalists<\/p>\n
Both Abilio and Alatas joined in the growing chorus of
\ncriticism of foreign journalists for provoking the minority of
\nthose East Timorese who oppose their integration with Indonesia,
\neither in Jakarta or in Dili<\/p>\n
\"I don't mean to accuse all foreign journalists, but some of
\nhave incited the East Timorese people to act out,\" Alatas said.<\/p>\n
They, he added, were conducting activities totally unconnected
\nto journalism by twisting the facts and further inflaming the
\nsituation in East Timor.<\/p>\n
About 30 journalists who were covering the APEC meeting
\nextended their stay to visit East Timor last week, during which
\nthey saw three days of violence in Dili and an anti-government
\ndemonstration at the city's Roman Catholic cathedral.<\/p>\n
The East Timor military has deported four journalists, one of
\nthem found to be carrying banners which were used by the
\ndemonstrators. The other three had sneaked into East Timor
\nwithout notifying the authorities in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Abilio said one of the journalists helped bring in the banners
\ninto the cathedral and then handed them over to the protesters.<\/p>\n
He said the authorities are now investigating the source of
\nthe banners, whether they were made locally in East Timor or had
\nbeen brought in by the journalists. (emb\/mas)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abilio-apologizes-to-nation-1447898607",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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