Annan expects first peacekeepers soon<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said
\nin New York on Tuesday that he hoped the first members of an
\ninternational peacekeeping force could be in East Timor by the
\nweekend at the latest.<\/p>\n
With Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas stating at the UN
\nthat Indonesia was not setting conditions for the international
\nforce, Annan said the UN Security Council was moving ahead as
\nquickly as possible for its preparation.<\/p>\n
\"It is possible to have some elements on the ground hopefully
\nby the weekend at the latest,\" he said as quoted by Reuters at UN
\nheadquarters.<\/p>\n
Annan said the Security Council would begin acting soon on a
\nresolution to authorize the force.<\/p>\n
He said he would have meetings with foreign ministers
\nAlexander Downer of Australia and Jaime Gama of Portugal, and
\nfurther talks with Alatas after they met on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"I think we made good progress and we are going to move
\nahead,\" Annan said.<\/p>\n
AP quoted UN spokesman Fred Eckhard as saying that once the
\nscheduled meetings with the foreign ministers were completed, the
\nsecretary-general hoped to work out all details of the deployment
\n\"in the next 24 hours or so\".<\/p>\n
AFP reported that draft resolution stipulates sending a
\nmultinational force for four months to East Timor with the power
\nto use military force to carry out its tasks.<\/p>\n
The draft did not specify how the large the force would be,
\nbut a spokesman for the British delegation said it would be
\nbetween 5,000 and 7,000 men.<\/p>\n
The resolution was drafted by British ambassador Jeremy
\nGreenstock, one of five ambassadors who visited Indonesia on
\nbehalf of the Council last week.<\/p>\n
The resolution explicitly says that the Council is \"acting
\nunder Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations\" which
\nauthorizes UN-approved missions to use military force when
\nnecessary.<\/p>\n
Alatas told reporters, Annan and Security Council members
\nthat Jakarta welcomed speedy deployment of a multinational force
\nto help restore order and would set no preconditions regarding
\nthe nationality of the troops.<\/p>\n
\"We are putting no conditions so it is all up to the United
\nNations to prepare the composition,\" Alatas said. \"We would like
\nto see whatever force that is going to be decided by the UN take
\nits place in East Timor as fast as possible.\"<\/p>\n
Alatas flew to New York to discuss details of the force after
\nPresident B.J. Habibie bowed to international pressure on Sunday
\nand invited the UN to send troops to the territory.<\/p>\n
East Timor was racked by violence following the Aug. 30 vote
\nin which a majority of East Timorese rejected Indonesia's
\nproposal for wide-ranging autonomy.<\/p>\n
However, Alatas questioned whether Australia should command
\nsuch an operation and said he would prefer peacekeepers from
\nmembers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.<\/p>\n
Australia, he said, was not the only country in the world that
\ncould lead the force.<\/p>\n
\"But that's a preference, that's not a conditionality,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
UN sources said Alatas was \"sensitive\" about Australia, which
\nhas angered Indonesians because of its widespread protests over
\nrecent events in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Alatas told reporters: \"We did not come here to prevent any
\ncountry from participating.\"<\/p>\n
But in reference to Australia leading the force, he added:
\n\"Countries themselves (have) to consider what is appropriate,
\nwhether their presence would or would not exacerbate the
\nsituation rather than improve the situation.\"<\/p>\n
He noted the Australian public was particularly incensed by
\nthe violence, protesting at Indonesian embassies and cutting off
\nsupplies from Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Richard Holbrooke, said
\nWashington would seek a Chapter 7 resolution that allows for the
\nuse of force. \"We are going to seek a strong, Chapter 7 robust
\nmandate for the force,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We don't want to have an UNPROFOR-type situation in East
\nTimor,\" referring to UN peacekeepers during the Bosnian war who
\nwere prohibited from taking offensive action.<\/p>\n
Habibie<\/p>\n
President B.J. Habibie reaffirmed on Monday his pledge to
\nallow UN peacekeepers into East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"He (Habibie) said there was no particular condition attached
\nto it, and it is up to the United Nations to decide on the
\nforce,\" said Finnish Ambassador to Indonesia Hannu Himanen after
\nmeeting with the President at Merdeka Palace in a contingent of
\nambassadors from members of the European Union (EU).<\/p>\n
\"He assured us that as far as he is concerned, the force could
\nbe there (in East Timor) tomorrow.\"<\/p>\n
The envoys told Habibie of the EU's readiness to provide about
\nUS$10 million in humanitarian aid to displaced persons in the
\nterritory if the government could guarantee access for the
\nplanned air drops.<\/p>\n
\"We hope it can happen tomorrow, but it has to be seen. We are
\nvery much concerned with the situation at the moment,\" Himanen
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Home Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid
\nsaid Annan should listen to concerns Indonesia has about the
\npeacekeeping force, noting the strong domestic opposition to
\nAustralia's involvement.<\/p>\n
\"The input is important so the UN does not send troops who do
\nnot have strong affinity there, which otherwise may give rise to
\nnew conflicts,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking in New Zealand, U.S. President Bill Clinton
\ndismissed on Tuesday Indonesia's reported objections to the
\npresence of Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and the United
\nStates in the peacekeeping force. (prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/annan-expects-first-peacekeepers-soon-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}