East Timor move not an instruction: Alatas<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The motion to grant East Timor independence was
\ntaken collectively during the Jan. 27 Cabinet meeting after
\nPresident B.J. Habibie first aired the idea two days earlier, an
\nofficial has said.<\/p>\n
\"It was not an instruction, though,\" said Minister of Foreign
\nAffairs Ali Alatas during a hearing with House of Representatives
\nCommission I for political and security affairs.<\/p>\n
In his memorandum to ministers, Habibie cited Australia's
\nrecent shift in stance on East Timor and raised the possibility
\nof a breakdown in the UN-sponsored talks between Portugal and
\nIndonesia over the territory's future.<\/p>\n
Alatas said Habibie asked his ministers to consider
\nalternatives for the province, including the possibility of
\nproposing separation at the General Assembly of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR) in 1999.<\/p>\n
A range of proposals were debated openly and in a democratic
\nfashion during the subsequent Cabinet meeting chaired by Habibie
\nat the Bina Graha presidential office, Alatas said.<\/p>\n
Alatas and Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus then made
\nthe bombshell announcement to the media last month.<\/p>\n
\"Cabinet meetings are different now (compared to those held
\nunder former president Soeharto),\" Alatas said of the Cabinet
\nmeeting with Habibie.<\/p>\n
\"Back then, all the ministers would report to the president
\n(Soeharto) and he would give out instructions... none dared to
\ndebate,\" he revealed with a smile.<\/p>\n
The manner with which the decision on East Timor was taken was
\nhighlighted by legislator Y.B. Wiyanjono from the minority
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction, and earlier by Djuhad
\nMahja of the United Development Party (PPP).<\/p>\n
Wiyanjono said the government had failed to consult the House
\nbefore taking the decision and said Alatas should not have
\noffered a second option before efforts to negotiate the first had
\nbeen exhausted.<\/p>\n
\"What do you mean, the decision was taken 'on the basis of the
\nPresident's memorandum'?\" said Wiyanjono, referring to a phrase
\nin the minister's written answers to questions lodged by the
\nCommission.<\/p>\n
Force majeure<\/p>\n
Alatas apologized, blaming \"force majeure\" for the
\ngovernment's failure to consult the House before announcing the
\nnew stance on East Timor.<\/p>\n
Alatas revealed that he was forced to announce the alternative
\nbefore the appointed date because news of the shift had leaked to
\nthe press.<\/p>\n
\"I was contacted by a journalist who asked for my confirmation
\nof the changes (before the meeting),\" he said.<\/p>\n
Alatas therefore chose to announce the plan to the media after
\nthe Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
There is growing speculation that the government's latest
\nshift on East Timor bypassed Alatas' office.<\/p>\n
Habibie's advisor on foreign affairs, Dewi Fortuna Anwar.
\nDewi, who sits on the board of experts in the Association of
\nIndonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI), which Habibie once
\nchaired, has denied this to be the case.<\/p>\n
According to Alatas, two days before the Cabinet meeting
\naround 50 people including ministers discussed the option. He did
\nnot say if he attended the meeting.<\/p>\n
He conceded that negotiations with Portugal would be tougher
\nnow that the government's willingness to consider independence
\nfor East Timor had been made public.<\/p>\n
Alatas said that leaving East Timor though the MPR would be
\n\"an honorable and dignified\" exit for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
However, the option will be considered only if Indonesia's
\noffer of broad autonomy for the troubled province is rejected in
\ntripartite talks with Portugal at the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal, East Timor would be free to handle their
\nown affairs except on foreign policy, external defense affairs
\nand monetary and fiscal matters.<\/p>\n
Alatas also said that East Timor would still take part in the
\nJune 7 election, but only to elect representatives to the House
\nof Representatives, not lower-level assemblies. Under the newly-
\nendorsed election bill, the province will be allocated 13 seats
\nin the new House.<\/p>\n
Elections for the provincial legislature will be postponed
\nuntil the question of autonomy has been settled, Alatas added.<\/p>\n
Also in the hearing, Alatas explained why Indonesia rejected a
\nproposal for referendum in the province tables by Portugal and
\nsupporters of East Timor independence.<\/p>\n
At the end of the hearing, legislators expressed their support
\nfor the government's stance.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the United States has said it will not take any
\nposition on East Timor's future, stressing that it would accept
\nany negotiated outcome.<\/p>\n
\"We won't try to offer a particular solution. It is up to the
\nparties themselves and of course, to the East Timorese people,\"
\nU.S. assistant secretary of state Stanley Roth said.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S. is prepared to be helpful in any way that it can, if
\nrequested,\" Roth said here on Friday, as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
He stressed the importance of the ongoing negotiations, noting
\nthat it was the first time the Indonesian government had shown
\nthe inclination to negotiate or be flexible in the 23 years since
\nEast Timor was integrated into Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, from West Java town of Pandeglang, Habibie told a
\ngathering the East Timorese may separate from Indonesia if they
\nfail to emphatize with the strife of the nation as a whole.<\/p>\n
\"If they pose a burden for us... and if they cannot
\ncomprehend our strife, they may either adjust or part ways
\npeacefully,\" he said. (aan\/prb)<\/p>",
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