Cabinet rules out breaking diplomatic ties with Australia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government ruled out on Wednesday the
\npossibility of severing diplomatic ties with Australia, despite
\nthe tense relationship between the two countries and the
\nperceived inappropriate behavior of the Australia-led
\nInternational Force For East Timor (Interfet).<\/p>\n
Prior to attending a Cabinet meeting at Bina Graha
\npresidential office, Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs
\nand Security Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung said Interfet's offenses
\nwere tolerable and that there was no need to freeze diplomatic
\nties with Australia.<\/p>\n
"Oh, it is too far, too far," he replied when asked about the
\ncalls to cut ties with Australia.<\/p>\n
Feisal said the Indonesian government had sent a letter of
\ncomplaint to Australia over an alleged territorial offense
\ncommitted by its Interfet troops.<\/p>\n
Feisal said the government had also lodged a protest with
\nAustralia concerning the "inappropriate and unfair" approach of
\nInterfet troops.<\/p>\n
"We hope the United Nations will study our complaints," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
An Interfet helicopter reportedly entered Indonesian territory
\nover the weekend and attempted to land on Kisar Island, Maluku,
\nafter pursuing pro-Jakarta militias fleeing East Timor.<\/p>\n
Australian defense minister John Moore earlier said the UN
\nmandate allowed peacekeepers to chase militias across the border
\ninto the Indonesian territory.<\/p>\n
Feisal said that residents of the island had prevented the
\nBlack Hawk chopper from landing.<\/p>\n
In his account last month to the House of Representatives
\nconcerning the government policy toward East Timor, President
\nB.J. Habibie deplored Australia's reaction to the East Timor
\nissue. However, he also reiterated the importance of good
\nrelations between the two countries.<\/p>\n
The government earlier canceled a landmark 1995 security
\ncooperation agreement with Australia, after saying its
\nneighbor's attitude had undermined bilateral relations.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a law expert said on Wednesday that the Indonesian
\ngovernment must prove to the UN and the international community
\nwhether the Indonesian Military (TNI) committed atrocities in
\nEast Timor, a charge frequently discussed in the foreign media.<\/p>\n
"We have to find out the truth about such allegations in East
\nTimor. But at the same time, Indonesia must also undertake a
\nprobe into Interfet's (alleged atrocities)," said Loebby Loqman
\nof the University of Indonesia's school of law.<\/p>\n
"So far only the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad
\nhas protested against Interfet's alleged wrongdoings."<\/p>\n
The law expert said that following on from Mahathir's
\nargument, Indonesia should also be able to charge Interfet with
\nthe war criminal tag. "This is important so the world doesn't
\njust blame it all on us. Such allegations must first be proven,"
\nLoebby said.<\/p>\n
"We have to fight and not let the world dictate to us and
\nblame us all the time," he said after a discussion in Semarang.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights
\n(Komnas HAM) Benjamin Mangkoedilaga said Indonesia could not
\nignore international calls to uncover human right violations in
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
"That is why Komnas HAM has sent a fact-finding team to East
\nTimor. So whatever the results, we have to continue taking legal
\nmeasures in handling this matter," Benjamin said.<\/p>\n
He said that in line with Law No. 39\/1999 on human rights,
\nKomnas HAM and the Ministry of Justice were working to establish
\na human rights court in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"This is to prevent our people from being dragged off to an
\ninternational court. If we can handle the matter within a
\nnational human rights court, things would be easier. The only
\nproblem is that we are racing against time," Benjamin said.
\n(har\/edt\/prb)<\/p>",
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