EU ambassadors end four-day Dili trip<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Three European Union ambassadors left Dili, East
\nTimor, yesterday at the end a four-day visit which saw tensions
\nrise between pro- and anti-integration supporters in the troubled
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
They ended their visit with a meeting on Monday night with
\nDili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.<\/p>\n
Belo said yesterday the three ambassadors expressed their
\nsupport for a resolution of the East Timor issue to be settled
\nthrough the ongoing talks sponsored by the United Nations.<\/p>\n
However Belo said Monday evening's talks really did not
\nintroduce anything new to him.<\/p>\n
\"I've talked about the same subjects. Yes, they gave so many
\nopinions but for me, there's nothing new,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Belo said the EU envoys expressed their hope that dialogs
\nbetween East Timorese figures and informal leaders could be held
\nto create a more conducive climate to finding a permanent
\nsolution to the problems in province.<\/p>\n
\"I have already repeatedly campaigned for that but it seemed
\nto have vanished by itself as if I were in the middle of the
\ndesert,\" Belo was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
The three Jakarta-based ambassadors -- Britain's Robin
\nChristopher, Austria's Viktor Segalla and the Netherlands' Paul
\nBrouwer -- arrived in Dili Saturday.<\/p>\n
Their arrival coincided with an increased wave of
\ndemonstrations in the province which resulted in clashes between
\npro- and anti-integrationists.<\/p>\n
One person was killed on Saturday while another was shot by
\nmilitary officers on Monday. A mob apparently attacked the van
\ncarrying the military officers which was escorting the
\nambassadors to Baucau.<\/p>\n
The visit by the ambassadors is unique since EU countries do
\nnot send their top envoys to the province whose integration as
\npart of Indonesia they do not recognize.<\/p>\n
In a related development, East Timor separatist leader Jose
\nRamos Horta said in New York Monday that any referendum on the
\nIndonesian-occupied territory should not occur for another three
\nto five years.<\/p>\n
The Associated Press quoted Horta as saying he that was trying
\nto show some flexibility in considering the \"political,
\npsychological earthquake\" in Indonesia that culminated with
\ndeadly riots and the ouster of president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
However Horta said East Timor activists would not relinquish
\ntheir position that East Timor should be independent.<\/p>\n
Horta suggested the two sides negotiate more immediate issues
\n-- the release of more political prisoners and the reduction of
\ntroops in East Timor -- before launching into a debate over the
\nfuture of the territory.<\/p>\n
\"There is a solid consensus between us, Portugal, the European
\nUnion and the U.S. position today that the only way to resolve
\nthe problem is to move step by step along these lines,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Horta said that after a transitional period of about five
\nyears, \"the East Timorese might want to stay with Indonesia, or
\nthe Indonesians might want to accept Timorese independence.\"
\n(emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/eu-ambassadors-end-four-day-dili-trip-1447893297",
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