Ali Alatas rejects S. Africa's offer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said
\nyesterday he declined South African President Nelson Mandela's
\noffer to host the third meeting of the All-Inclusive Intra East
\nTimor Dialog (AETD) and said it would likely to be held in
\nAustria again.<\/p>\n
"I think Austria would still be good. They have the
\nexperience, and the atmosphere there is also conducive for such
\nmeetings," Alatas said after meeting with President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
"That's our inclination. Let's just continue first with the
\nmeetings in Austria," he said after the meeting at Soeharto's
\nresidence on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The AETD brings together both pro- and anti-integrationist
\nTimorese both in Indonesia and abroad. Two meetings have been
\nheld in a small town in Austria.<\/p>\n
The AETD was a result of the on-going tripartite talks between
\nthe Indonesian and Portuguese foreign ministers under the
\nauspices of the UN secretary-general with the aim of finding a
\npolitically acceptable solution to the East Timor issue.<\/p>\n
The UN secretary-general's special envoy for East Timor,
\nJamsheed Marker, said after meeting with Mandela in Pretoria on
\nTuesday that the South African president had offered to host a
\nmeeting on East Timor.<\/p>\n
Initially there was some confusion on whether Mandela was
\nproposing a new initiative or just wanting to host one the
\nmeetings of the on-going talks.<\/p>\n
Alatas explained that Mandela was only offering a venue for
\nthe meeting.<\/p>\n
"So it wasn't a new initiative or something which veered away
\nfrom what the UN is doing," Alatas remarked.<\/p>\n
The former Portuguese colony of East Timor was integrated as a
\npart of Indonesia in 1976. But the UN still recognizes Lisbon as
\nthe administrative authority there.<\/p>\n
Mandela's name has been increasingly linked to the issue after
\na visit here last month in which he met with jailed East Timorese
\nrebel leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao. Mandela later sent a
\nletter urging Soeharto to release Xanana. The request was
\nrefused. (prb\/mds)<\/p>",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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