East Timor anniversary passes without incident<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): After weeks of swirling rumors of impending
\nclashes between demonstrators and security forces, quiet pervaded
\nin Dili, East Timor, yesterday as residents chose to stay indoors
\non the province's 22nd anniversary of integration into Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The only formal ceremony marking the former Portuguese
\ncolony's integration was held on the grounds of the governor's
\noffice.<\/p>\n
Tightly guarded, the ceremony was attended by about 500
\npeople, mostly government employees.<\/p>\n
Dili residents told The Jakarta Post by telephone that the
\nshunning of formal celebrations was a deliberate measure.<\/p>\n
\"We discussed it with pro-referendum, informal Timorese
\nleaders in Dili and had decided to urge people to stay home today
\nto avoid violence that could occur,\" said Manuel Viegas
\nCarrascalao, head of the Reconciliation and Unity Movement of the
\nEast Timorese People.<\/p>\n
Another resident, Jos Luis, told the Post that residents
\nconducted \"a silent protest\" by staying at home to show their
\npolitical stance.<\/p>\n
\"Only civil servants and Armed Forces members were around the
\nstreets of Dili today... residents stayed home,\" said the
\ncoordinator of the Law, Human Rights and Justice Foundation in
\nDili.<\/p>\n
Manuel and Jos said only a few residents heeded the
\nprovincial government's call to raise the red-and-white
\nIndonesian flag, unlike on integration days in the past.<\/p>\n
No violence was reported but security officers patrolled the
\ntown in open trucks and on foot in groups of 10 to 15.<\/p>\n
In the past few weeks, an estimated 7,000 migrants to the
\nprovince have fled amid fears of violence and threats they would
\nbe driven out on integration day.<\/p>\n
Jos dismissed reports of an exodus of tens of thousands of
\nnon-Timorese to the border town of Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara,
\nabout 300 kilometers southwest of Dili.<\/p>\n
\"We've sent a team there, but have found it was not true.\"<\/p>\n
Jos believed the rumors were intentionally spread to create
\nthe impression Timorese were hostile to migrants.<\/p>\n
\"The facts are not like that... native Timorese live in
\nharmony with migrants.\"<\/p>\n
Dialog<\/p>\n
In his address during the ceremony, Governor Abilio Jose
\nOsorio Soares stressed dialog as the solution to the province's
\ntroubles.<\/p>\n
\"The only way to move toward that direction is to hold dialog
\namong us, among those who live here and those who live abroad, to
\nenable us to manage the province based on objectivity and
\nreality,\" he was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
Abilio said the special autonomy offered by President B.J.
\nHabibie for the province was a \"fair and realistic\" offer.<\/p>\n
Separately in Jakarta, Minister of Information Muhammad
\nYosfiah expressed personal concern over the exodus.<\/p>\n
\"Some of my relatives have also fled,\" he said after meeting
\nwith Habibie yesterday.<\/p>\n
His wife, Antonia Yacinta da Costa, is a native East Timorese.
\nThe minister is from Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, a city whose
\ntraders dominate the East Timor economy.<\/p>\n
United Nations Special Envoy on East Timor Affairs Jamsheed
\nMarker, who arrived in Jakarta Thursday, met with jailed East
\nTimor separatist leader Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao in
\nCipinang jail, East Jakarta, yesterday morning.<\/p>\n
The UN has been sponsoring talks between the Indonesian and
\nPortuguese foreign ministers to find an internationally
\nacceptable solution to the East Timor issue.<\/p>\n
Marker is scheduled to meet with Habibie this morning.<\/p>\n
Later yesterday, Xanana also met with Dili Bishop Carlos
\nFelipe Ximenes Belo who was on a visit to the capital.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after the two visits, Xanana hailed the
\nplanned opening of diplomatic interest sections in Indonesia and
\nPortugal, saying it would help improve relations.<\/p>\n
\"My release should not be made a precondition for the talks on
\nEast Timor, including the opening of a special interest body
\nbetween Indonesia and Portugal.\"<\/p>\n
Portugal recently included Xanana's release as a condition to
\nthe opening of the diplomatic interest representation.<\/p>\n
Xanana also said that demonstrations were not the solution and
\nthat it was more important to create a conducive climate for
\ndialog.<\/p>\n
\"I've said that if all Timorese are pro-integration then I
\nwould follow. But the reality is different and there has been no
\nopportunity for people to express how they feel,\" he was quoted
\nby Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
\"We have really never been anti-integration. But the way it is
\nforced upon us to be part of Indonesian territory is what we
\ndon't like.\"<\/p>\n
Separately here yesterday, Indonesian Minister of Foreign
\nAffairs Ali Alatas said he was set to meet his Portuguese
\ncounterpart for the next round of talks under the auspices of the
\nUN secretary-general in August.<\/p>\n
Alatas said UN Secretary-General Koffi Annan had invited the
\nIndonesian and Portuguese foreign ministers to a meeting early
\nnext month, although the exact date and place have yet to be set.<\/p>\n
The meeting is likely to discuss Indonesia's latest proposal
\non special autonomy status for the province.<\/p>\n
Alatas said that during a meeting with Marker on Thursday, the
\nUN special envoy said Lisbon appeared to favorably greet the
\nIndonesian offer.<\/p>\n
\"Marker got the impression that the Portuguese government has
\ngiven a positive reaction to the government's offer which is
\nconsidered as a new proposal,\" he said in a hearing with House
\nCommission I on foreign affairs and information.<\/p>\n
He said Marker also confirmed that the Portuguese government
\nwas interested in discussing further the Indonesian proposal in
\ntripartite talks with Indonesia and UN.<\/p>\n
The foreign minister also said that Bishop Belo gave a
\npositive response to the proposal.<\/p>\n
\"I have explained to him the proposal in detail and as far as
\nI understand Belo considers the Indonesian government's offer of
\nspecial status as a good proposal,\" he said. The two met here on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
According to Alatas, Belo gave input that in 15 to 20 years
\nafter the special status took effect, the government should give
\npeople in the province the opportunity to evaluate whether they
\nwould continue with the special status or make a self-
\ndetermination referendum. (rms\/prb\/aan)<\/p>",
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