Belo denied making remarks insulting ABRI, says Feisal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung
\nsaid yesterday that East Timor Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo
\nhas denied making the derogatory remarks about the military
\nprinted in a German magazine recently.<\/p>\n
"According to the East Timor Bishop, the article in Der
\nSpiegel magazine, in which he denounced the armed forces, was not
\ntrue," Feisal announced at his office.<\/p>\n
Feisal did not personally meet the bishop, but the denial was
\napparently made when Belo met with leaders of the East Timor
\nprovincial government in Dili Monday night.<\/p>\n
Speaking after bestowing Yudha Dharma Nararya medals to 57
\nsenior military officers for outstanding achievement, Feisal said
\nthe denial would still have to be cross-checked with the article
\nand, if possible, with the writer.<\/p>\n
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as quoted in the Oct. 14
\nedition of the German magazine, said Indonesian troops had
\ntreated East Timorese people like "scabby dogs" and "slaves."<\/p>\n
The remarks provoked protests in Jakarta condemning the
\nbishop. These in turn prompted massive protests in Dili
\nsupporting the bishop and denouncing the treatment the East
\nTimorese Roman Catholic leader received during his visit in
\nJakarta last week.<\/p>\n
Belo, a native East Timorese, has neither publicly confirmed
\nnor denied making the remarks, but has promised to explain the
\nmatter at a news conference in Dili on Nov. 25.<\/p>\n
In Dili, East Timor Police Chief Col. Yusuf Muharam said
\nyesterday that during the meeting on Monday evening, Belo signed
\na statement saying that what he told the reporter in the
\ninterview was different from what was printed.<\/p>\n
Belo admitted to giving an interview to the magazine's
\nreporter by phone, to a person with a woman's voice, but it was
\nfive years ago, Yusuf said.<\/p>\n
"The article did not portray the context of the interview at
\nthat time, according to Belo," Yusuf said.<\/p>\n
The meeting was attended by East Timor Governor Abilio Jose
\nOsorio Soares, East Timor military chief Col. Mahidin Simbolon,
\nEast Timor chief prosecutor J.F. Martanto, and Yusuf himself.<\/p>\n
"It was a short meeting followed by dinner," Yusuf said.<\/p>\n
Twist<\/p>\n
Yusuf said the bishop's remarks were twisted by the foreign
\nreporter who does not like the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n
It was designed to set Indonesians against Indonesians, to
\nprovoke the kind of reaction that erupted in Jakarta, he said.<\/p>\n
The ripples following the Der Spiegel article continued
\nyesterday with Kompas daily becoming the target of criticism.<\/p>\n
About 100 Islamic youths marched to the newspaper's head
\noffice on Jl. Palmerah Selatan to protest at Kompas' coverage of
\nthe Der Spiegel affair which they said was biased and improper.<\/p>\n
Deputy chief editor Ninok Leksono said Kompas had published a
\ncorrection to one of the reports that provoked the protest.<\/p>\n
In a related development, 15 U.S. senators Monday urged
\nPresident Bill Clinton to raise the East Timor issue when he
\nmeets with President Soeharto in Manila next week.<\/p>\n
In a letter the senators said Clinton should push the question
\nof a UN-sponsored referendum for East Timorese people at the
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
They also expressed concern about reports of human rights
\nviolations in East Timor. Senators signing the letter included
\nMassachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy, Wisconsin Democrat Russ
\nFeingold and Rhode Island Republican John Chafee.<\/p>\n
Soeharto and Clinton will be in Manila next week for the
\nsummit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
\n(imn\/08\/33)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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