Clinton satisfied at E. Timorese handling<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): United States President Bill Clinton said
\nyesterday he had been given assurances by the Indonesian
\ngovernment that the 29 young East Timorese who are occupying the
\nU.S. embassy parking lot will not be punished when their standoff
\ncomes to an end.<\/p>\n
\"We have been assured that there will be no retribution
\nagainst them for exercising their political expression and
\nbringing their concerns to us,\" Clinton told a press conference
\nat the U.S. embassy.<\/p>\n
\"I feel comfortable that the commitment we received will be
\nhonored,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The East Timorese yesterday were bracing to spend their third
\nnight at the embassy compound.<\/p>\n
They scaled the spiked embassy fence on Saturday morning and
\nhave refused to leave until their demands are met, which includes
\nthe release of Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao, currently serving
\na 17-year jail term for leading an armed rebellion in East Timor.<\/p>\n
The youths yesterday were no longer insisting on seeing either
\nClinton or U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and said
\nthey were prepared to meet with President Soeharto or Minister of
\nForeign Affairs Ali Alatas.<\/p>\n
Their other demands include asylum in Portugal and the release
\nof East Timorese now serving time in prisons.<\/p>\n
Efforts yesterday to mediate by the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights, which includes East Timorese Clementino Dos Reis
\nAmaral, failed to end their occupation of the embassy compound.<\/p>\n
Indonesian officials have dismissed the embassy occupation as
\na \"publicity stunt\" created to take advantage of the presence of
\nhordes of foreign journalists covering the APEC conference.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said last night that it
\nwas now up to the U.S. government to deal with the East Timorese.<\/p>\n
\"We have given the assurances that we will leave them alone if
\nthey get out. Now, it is up to the U.S. embassy how to handle
\nthem,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rejected<\/p>\n
The military meanwhile rejected the demands for Xanana's
\nrelease as \"unreasonable.\"<\/p>\n
\"They know it is impossible to release Xanana, who has been
\nconvicted in court. They made the demand just to attract public
\nattention,\" Armed Forces chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Syarwan
\nHamid, was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.<\/p>\n
The demonstration at the embassy was an attempt to discredit
\nthe good name of Indonesia in an international forum, Syarwan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
At the press conference yesterday, Clinton said that he did
\nnot see the embassy occupation as something which raised concern
\nfor his government or disturbed his visit in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"We have no problem with these young people coming and
\nexpressing their views on our embassy grounds,\" he said<\/p>\n
On a separate occasion, Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating
\ndismissed suggestions that the embassy occupation and Sunday's
\nriot in Dili, capital of East Timor, were drawing attention away
\nfrom the APEC leaders meeting scheduled for today.<\/p>\n
\"This is always an issue and has been an issue for years...
\nbut it is not overshadowing what is happening here,\" he told
\njournalists. \"You get no sense of that speaking to any of the
\nleaders. So, this may be a media view, but it is not a view here
\nin reality,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The international media covering the APEC conference described
\nthe event as a major embarrassment for the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n
\"That is not to say that the issue isn't important or that it
\nis not something that we shouldn't work on,\" he said, adding that
\nhe hoped to see improvement in the development and economic
\ncondition of East Timor in the future.<\/p>\n
Clinton also said that East Timor will remain an issue of
\nconcern to the United States. (yns\/mas\/sim\/emb)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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