Belo says 'Der Spiegel' manipulated his remarks<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (JP): Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
\nyesterday accused the German magazine Der Spiegel of manipulating
\nhis April interview to make it sound anti-Indonesian government.<\/p>\n
Speaking to domestic and foreign journalists here yesterday,
\nNobel laureate Belo denied some of the comments attributed to him
\nby the magazine's Oct.14 edition, including the controversial
\n\"scabby dogs\" which he allegedly used to describe Indonesia's
\ntreatment of East Timorese people.<\/p>\n
\"I take moral responsibility for the content of the interview,
\nbut it was heavily manipulated by the journalist,\" he said.
\n\"What I said then -- seven months ago -- does not necessarily
\nreflect my present views,\" Belo said.<\/p>\n
He said he had no intention of discrediting the Indonesian
\ngovernment or Armed Forces. But he added that \"the motives of Der
\nSpiegel are questionable and to be highly regretted.\"<\/p>\n
\"The expression 'scabby dogs' is totally unknown to me. Der
\nSpiegel must assume full responsibility for using it. The reason
\nis that I myself did not know the word 'scabby' in English. I
\ncame to know of that word only after it was quoted and published
\nin the mass media.\" he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that he did not attack the Armed Forces in
\ngeneral. \"By the word 'soldier' in the interview, I meant the
\nindividual (within the Armed Forces) who does not put into
\npractice Sapta Marga (the Armed Forces' oath) and (state
\nideology) Pancasila.\"<\/p>\n
He also denied telling magazine journalist Juergen Kremb that
\nthe East Timorese people want to be independent.<\/p>\n
\"I did not make this statement because to the best of my
\nknowledge there are people who are in favor of integration, and
\nthere are also people who still struggle for self determination,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"I fully understand that some expressions and generalizations
\nwrongly attributed to me might have wounded the hearts of some.
\nFor this, I wish to apologize to those who are offended,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Belo also asked for those offended to \"understand my feelings
\nas a religious leader and spiritual father of the East Timorese,
\nsince I am hurt deeply every time my fellow-men are treated
\nwithout respect for their dignity.\"<\/p>\n
He said the world should look at the conditions in which the
\nEast Timorese live. \"Defending dignity should be our common
\ngoal,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Some 300 youths staged a demonstration outside the press
\nconference. They brandished banners saying \"Viva Belo\" and \"Viva
\nTimor Leste (East Timor).\"<\/p>\n
The demonstrators dispersed peacefully after secretary of the
\nEast Timor diocese, Domingos Sequeira, intervened.<\/p>\n
Juergen Kremb has insisted he stands by the comments
\nattributed to Belo, which sparked mass rallies for and against
\nthe bishop in Jakarta and Dili.<\/p>\n
Immediately after Belo's statement yesterday, comments poured
\nin from all sides. Armed Forces Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung
\nsaid in Bandung, West Java, the Armed Forces will study Belo's
\nstatement before issuing their stance.<\/p>\n
A harsher reaction came yesterday from Amien Rais, chairman of
\nthe 28-million strong Muhammadiyah Moslem organization. Amien
\nsaid the government should reprimand Belo for his anti-Indonesian
\ngovernment remarks.<\/p>\n
Amien said he was still of the opinion that Belo should give
\nfurther explanation to the House of Representatives. He also
\ncriticized Belo for his inaccurate description of conditions in
\nEast Timor, including that in relation to religious co-existence.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Udayana military command Maj. Gen. A. Rivai who
\noversees Bali, East Nusa Tenggara and East Timor said he was
\nimpressed by Belo's statement.<\/p>\n
\"Incredible. Never thought it would be this good,\" he was
\nquoted by Antara as saying about the statement.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some local East Timorese said Belo's statement
\nreflected his position on the province's integration into
\nIndonesia. \"We can see the bishop is not against integration.
\nWhat he has been fighting for is humanity,\" a resident was quoted
\nby Antara as saying. (33\/21\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/belo-says-der-spiegel-manipulated-his-remarks-1447893297",
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