Alatas calls referendum in E. Timor 'unacceptable'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas warned
\nyesterday that a referendum on East Timor's status, as demanded
\nby some East Timorese, would likely lead to clashes between
\nsupporters and opponents of integration with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Alatas also dismissed the notion that a referendum would solve
\nthe East Timor problem.<\/p>\n
\"A referendum is something that we think is inappropriate and
\nis unacceptable to the majority of the East Timorese people
\nbecause they feel that they have already decided (the issue)
\nseveral years ago.<\/p>\n
\"A referendum, by the way, would also be something fraught
\nwith all kinds of risks,\" he told reporters in his office.<\/p>\n
A group of about 20 young East Timorese staged a demonstration
\nat the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday, denouncing calls
\nfor reform and stating their support for East Timor to remain a
\npart of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
On Friday, some 1,000 East Timorese students from various
\ncities in Java converged on the ministry to call for a referendum
\non the status of the former Portuguese colony.<\/p>\n
The government has insisted that the question of East Timor's
\nstatus was settled when a group of East Timorese leaders,
\nrepresenting the majority of the population, declared their
\nintention to join the republic in 1976.<\/p>\n
Alatas said that those calling for a referendum were \"the very
\nparties which did not even want anything close to a referendum or
\na democratically achieved solution.\"<\/p>\n
He was apparently referring to Nobel Peace Prize laureate
\nRamos Horta and the Fretilin movement which has been fighting for
\nan independent East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"They preferred to solve the East Timor issue through force of
\narms when political parties in East Timor declared for
\nintegration. Now, they are turning around and becoming defenders
\nof a referendum.\"<\/p>\n
Alatas underscored President B.J. Habibie's offer to grant a
\nspecial status for East Timor to break the current impasse in
\nnegotiations with Portugal on the status of the territory.<\/p>\n
\"I hope the other side will not just react in a negative way
\nbefore even knowing what the context is,\" he said. \"We need the
\npolitical will to try to move (forward) to find a solution
\nacceptable to both sides.\"<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Portugal have been conducting negotiations on
\nEast Timor under the auspices of the UN secretary-general.<\/p>\n
A group of activists calling themselves the Committee for
\nSolidarity for a Peaceful Solution to East Timor met with
\nlegislators from the Armed Forces yesterday to call on the
\ngovernment to allow a referendum to take place in East Timor to
\nresolve the problem once and for all.<\/p>\n
\"The anti-integration demonstrations, the growing calls for a
\nreferendum and the increasing number of East Timorese seeking
\npolitical asylum overseas are evidence East Timor is a problem
\nthat needs solving,\" Helmy Fauzi, coordinator of the group, said.<\/p>\n
Other activists present included Hendardi, H.J.C. Princen,
\nBonar Tigor Naipospos and Yenny Rosa Damayanti.<\/p>\n
Supporters of East Timor's integration said the call for a
\nreferendum betrayed the Balibo Declaration made by their leaders
\nin 1976.<\/p>\n
Former East Timor governor Mario Viegas Carrascalao said those
\ncalling for reform never thought of the consequences for East
\nTimor if it split from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"It's suicidal. East Timor does not have the capacity to stand
\non its own,\" Carrascalao said as reported by Antara.<\/p>\n
Domingos MD Soares, chairman of the Center for Development
\nStudies in East Timor, said integration with Indonesia remained
\nthe best course for East Timor's advancement in the future.
\n(byg\/rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alatas-calls-referendum-in-e-timor-unacceptable-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}