East Timorese leaders, UN staff to meet Megawati<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (Agencies): East Timorese leaders and UN
\nadministrators will meet next week with Indonesian President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri, who in the past has refused to talk with
\nrepresentatives of the fledgling nation, a top official said
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
East Timor's UN governor Sergio Vieira de Mello said
\nIndonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda had invited officials
\nof the world body and political leaders from East Timor for talks
\nin Jakarta next Thursday.<\/p>\n
The delegation, comprising de Mello, independence leader
\nXanana Gusmao, de facto foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta, and
\nMari Alkatiri, who heads the country's dominant political party,
\nwill meet Megawati and other Indonesian government officials.<\/p>\n
\"I welcome this invitation and believe we can now launch the
\nhigh-level consultations that have been stalled for some time,\"
\nsaid de Mello. \"This augurs very well for the future relations
\nbetween (East Timor) and the new government in Jakarta,\" de Mello
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Megawati, a staunch nationalist who previously supported East
\nTimor's occupation and annexation by Indonesia, recently
\nrecognized the territory's right to secede.<\/p>\n
Pro-Indonesian militias with the support of Indonesian troops
\nlaunched a campaign of murder, looting and destruction after East
\nTimor's people voted for independence in a UN-supervised
\nreferendum in 1999.<\/p>\n
Megawati's predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, maintained close
\ncontacts with Gusmao and Horta and visited the region last year.
\nBut his vice president, Megawati, refused to meet with them or
\nwith the UN representatives governing the nation during its
\ntransition to independence.<\/p>\n
UN officials said she had refused to meet them six times
\nduring her 21-month tenure as Wahid's deputy. She assumed the top
\noffice after Indonesia's top legislative body impeached Wahid in
\nJuly.<\/p>\n
The announcement of the visit came on the day that the results
\nin East Timor's first democratic election were announced.
\nAlkatiri's Fretilin party, which led the 24-year struggle against
\nIndonesian rule, won 55 out of 88 seats in the new assembly.<\/p>\n
It also coincided with the anniversary of the murders last
\nyear of three UN staffers in Indonesian West Timor (East Nusa
\nTenggara) by East Timorese paramilitaries.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Japan may send troops to East Timor to join UN
\npeacekeeping operations, with the country's defense chief due to
\ndiscuss the matter with Jakarta next week, a defense spokesman
\nsaid Thursday in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\"We are considering dispatching our troops to East Timor to
\ntake part in peacekeeping operations,\" the defense agency
\nspokesman said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
Between 300 and 400 Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers would
\ngo to East Timor early next year, the Asahi newspaper said,
\nquoting government sources.<\/p>\n
If realized, it would be Japan's first large-scale deployment
\nof SDF troops on an overseas peacekeeping operation since Tokyo
\nsent 1,200 soldiers to Cambodia in 1992 and 1993.<\/p>\n
Japanese troops in East Timor would mainly be engaged in road
\nconstruction, the daily said.<\/p>\n
It was unlikely they would join the main UN peacekeeping force
\non the island, which is involved in patrolling the area and
\ndemobilizing guerrilla forces.<\/p>\n
Japanese law bans its troops from joining UN peacekeeping
\noperations in areas where a cease-fire agreement is not in place.<\/p>\n
Gen. Nakatani, director-general of the Defense Agency, plans
\nto visit Indonesia to discuss the issue ahead of a planned visit
\nto East Timor, the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
\"He will discuss the issue with Indonesian officials when he
\nvisits Indonesia next week,\" the spokesman said. \"Nakatani has
\nsaid Japan actively wants to support peace in East Timor.\"<\/p>\n
Nakatani is due to visit Indonesia on Monday and hold talks
\nwith Indonesia's President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the Asahi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He would then make a three-day visit to East Timor from
\nWednesday to meet with Sergio de Mello, special representative of
\nthe UN secretary-general and in charge of the UN Transitional
\nAdministration in East Timor, it said.<\/p>",
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