Clinton meets Belo, supports E. Timor peace<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Agencies): U.S. President Bill Clinton briefly
\ndropped in on a meeting to meet Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes
\nBelo yesterday and pledged his support for peace and
\nreconciliation in East Timor.<\/p>\n
The impromptu meeting occurred when Belo, co-winner of the
\n1996 Nobel Peace prize, was meeting with U.S. National Security
\nAdviser Sandy Berger at the White House Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Clinton promised to continue raising human rights issues with
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
White House spokesperson Mike McCurry told reporters that
\nClinton and Belo talked for about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
"The president expressed his interest in peace and
\nreconciliation for the people of East Timor," McCurry said.<\/p>\n
He added that Clinton expressed "our willingness to continue
\nto raise issues with respect to human rights in our discussions
\nwith people in the region, specifically with the government of
\nIndonesia."<\/p>\n
Separately, U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns
\ntold a press briefing that Belo was also scheduled to meet with
\nU.S. Under Secretary of State Tom Pickering.<\/p>\n
He said the meeting "illustrated the very great importance
\nthat the United States gives to dialog between Indonesia and
\nPortugal, between the parties, between different communities and
\ndifferent groups within East Timor itself."<\/p>\n
"We support the Portuguese-Indonesian talks and we are very
\nglad that he is here. As you know, Mr. Ramos-Horta, the fellow
\nNobel laureate of Bishop Belo, was also in Washington a couple of
\nweeks ago when Secretary Albright was overseas, and Under
\nSecretary Tim Wirth and Assistant Secretary John Shattuck had
\ngood discussions with him.<\/p>\n
"So we very much want to continue to be part of the solution
\nto the problems of East Timor and today's meetings illustrate
\nthat."<\/p>\n
Tuesday's spontaneous meeting came on the eve of today's on-
\ngoing tripartite talks between Indonesian foreign minister Ali
\nAlatas and his Portuguese counterpart Jaime Gama. The two-day
\ntalks are being held in New York under the aegis of United
\nNations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.<\/p>\n
The former Portuguese colony of East Timor was integrated into
\nIndonesia in 1976, a move still unrecognized by the UN. The aim
\nof the tripartite talks is to find an internationally acceptable
\nsolution to the issue.<\/p>\n
UN<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in New York, Abilio Araujo, a leading Timorese
\nfigure living in Portugal, reiterated his support for the
\ntripartite talks.<\/p>\n
Araujo made the statement at Tuesday's session of the UN
\nDecolonization Committee.<\/p>\n
Araujo, chairman of the Timor Foundation for Reconciliation
\nand Development, attended the session as a petitioner in support
\nof Indonesia's position. He was accompanied by six others from
\nPortugal and Australia who also served as petitioners.<\/p>\n
Araujo maintained his rejection of Portugal's demands for a
\nreferendum in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Portuguese Ambassador Fernando Neves accused Indonesia at the
\nUN committee of illegally occupying East Timor.<\/p>\n
"The outburst of violence that was witnessed during the recent
\nillegal elections imposed on the people of East Timor by the
\nIndonesian occupants shows that, as long as their right to self-
\ndetermination is not recognized, the East Timorese will not give
\nup their fight," Neves said.<\/p>\n
A delegate from Indonesia, Marty Natalegawa, slammed Neves'
\nremarks, describing them as "unwarranted allegations and
\nmisrepresentations."<\/p>\n
"Today, it is astonishing that Portugal proclaims itself as
\nthe so-called champion of self-determination and human rights
\nwhen its past record in this field ... is known to be the worst
\nin the annals of decolonization," Natalegawa told the committee.<\/p>\n
He added that East Timor "opted for independence through
\nintegration with Indonesia."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/clinton-meets-belo-supports-e-timor-peace-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}