E. Timor not on ASEM agenda: Alatas<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas
\nmaintained yesterday that East Timor would not be discussed at
\nnext month's Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) because it was considered
\nan extraneous issue and irrelevant to the core topic of the
\nsummit.<\/p>\n
Alatas said ASEM leaders had agreed since their first summit
\nin Bangkok in 1996 to exclude the issue from the meeting's agenda
\nsince there was a separate forum to discuss East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"I think it's impossible for the issue to be raised in the
\nsummit because it is regarded as an irrelevant issue. This has
\nbeen known by all parties, including the host,\" Alatas said after
\ndiscussing preparations for the summit with Vice President B.J.
\nHabibie at Merdeka Selatan Palace.<\/p>\n
Habibie, on behalf of President Soeharto, will attend the two-
\nday summit in London starting April 3.<\/p>\n
East Timor was integrated as Indonesia's 27th province in
\n1976. The United Nations still regards Lisbon as the
\nadministrative power in this former Portuguese colony.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Portugal have held several tripartite meetings
\nunder the auspices of the UN Secretary-General to find an
\ninternationally recognized solution to the issue, but so far the
\ntalks have failed to yield significant progress.<\/p>\n
ASEM brings together leaders from Asian countries -- Brunei,
\nIndonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
\nVietnam, Japan, China and South Korea -- along with 15 European
\ncounterparts who are members of the European Union.<\/p>\n
The Asian monetary crisis is expected to be high on the
\nagenda.<\/p>\n
During the Bangkok summit, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio
\nGuterres approached President Soeharto after a banquet held by
\nthe host and held a brief impromptu talk about East Timor.<\/p>\n
Guterres claimed he had made a diplomatic gesture to Soeharto
\nby offering to open up offices in each other's capitals in return
\nfor the release of jailed Timorese separatist leader Xanana
\nGusmao.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government later claimed that this was simply a
\nnew twist on an old proposal which Portugal itself had initially
\nrejected, but this time accompanied by the conditionality of
\nGusmao's release.<\/p>\n
\"It is possible,\" Alatas said when asked if Guterres might
\nunexpectedly approach Habibie during the meeting in London and
\nask to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n
Habibie will leave Jakarta tomorrow and pay a one-day working
\nvisit to Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
He will then visit Italy Monday and meet with Prime Minister
\nRomano Prodi. (prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/e-timor-not-on-asem-agenda-alatas-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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