Gus Dur to order the release of 18 Timorese prisoners<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Tuesday that
\nhe would order next week the release of 18 East Timorese
\npolitical prisoners still in Indonesian jails.<\/p>\n
He made the pledge at a meeting with East Timor independence
\nleader Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao, who received a red carpet
\nwelcome befitting a head of state, at Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur, as the President is popularly called, said he would
\nsign their release after his return from a four-day visit to
\nChina beginning on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The two leaders got off to a good start as the promise came
\nhours after Xanana appealed, during a media briefing, for the
\nrelease of East Timorese freedom fighters who, like himself, were
\njailed for fighting against Indonesian rule.<\/p>\n
The man who is widely tipped to be East Timor's first
\npresident earlier returned to the Cipinang penitentiary, as a
\nfree man, to meet with his former fellow inmates. Xanana served
\ntime in Cipinang for leading an armed rebellion against Jakarta
\nand was released in September after the East Timor self-
\ndetermination ballot.<\/p>\n
During a joint media conference, Gus Dur and Xanana said they
\nhad agreed to put the past behind them and to concentrate on
\nbuilding mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n
\"We are committed to doing our best to create a cooperative,
\nfriendly and good relationship between the two countries,\" Xanana
\nsaid, adding that he had also asked for assistance in
\nrepatriating 130,000 East Timorese refugees currently in camps in
\nEast Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
The two leaders held a private meeting before aides joined
\nthem. The President was accompanied by Minister of Foreign
\nAffairs Alwi Shihab, Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance
\nand Industry Kwik Kian Gie and outgoing Army chief of staff Gen.
\nSubagyo H.S. Xanana was flanked by Ramos Horta, Marie Alkatiri
\nand his deputy military commander Taur Matan Ruak.<\/p>\n
Xanana also met with Gen. Wiranto, the coordinating minister
\nfor political affairs and security and until last month the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) commander. Neither men talked to the
\npress after their meeting.<\/p>\n
Earlier, during a media conference at the Regent Hotel, Xanana
\nsaid he had come back to forge close ties with a new Indonesia
\nwhich valued democracy, human rights, justice and truth.<\/p>\n
\"Our presence here is to prove that the people of Timor
\nLorosae are ready, with the people of Indonesia, to create a new
\nclimate, a new future where they will have friendly and
\ncooperative relations, with mutual respect and help.<\/p>\n
\"That's why we're here. We're not here to ask for retribution
\nor for compensation. We're here to tell the Indonesian people
\nthat the two peoples can coexist, work hand in hand toward a
\nbrighter future,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He described everything that happened in East Timor during
\nIndonesia's 24-year occupation as a \"historical mistake\".<\/p>\n
While offering an olive branch, Xanana underlined the need for
\nTNI to denounce any links with pro-Indonesia militias, whom he
\nsaid could cause instability from their bases in East Nusa
\nTenggara.<\/p>\n
He warned that failure to control the militias would put a
\nheavy burden on the Indonesian government and would harm
\nIndonesia's international reputation.<\/p>\n
\"We have a message for the (Indonesian) generals. We did not
\ndestroy Indonesia's image. The East Timorese people have suffered
\na lot. Now, they are facing hunger and disease, they have no
\nhomes and their belongings have been looted or burned.<\/p>\n
\"We ask TNI, especially the Kopassus generals to stop giving
\nsupport because it could become a source of embarrassment for the
\nIndonesian people,\" he said. Kopassus is the Army's elite Special
\nForce, blamed for much of the human rights abuses in East Timor
\nand elsewhere in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
When asked whether he was prepared to call off an ongoing UN
\ninquiry into possible war crimes by TNI, Xanana said he did not
\nhave such an authority.<\/p>\n
While welcoming Indonesians to come to East Timor and assist
\nin the development of the country, he said ownership of many of
\nthe Indonesian assets would be settled through negotiations
\ninvolving the United Nations.<\/p>\n
\"After all that has happened, after all the suffering that the
\nEast Timorese have endured, it would appear strange that
\nIndonesia should want to calculate and repossess those assets.<\/p>\n
\"But that's my personal view,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Xanana said he would propose the establishment of an East
\nTimor representative office in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
It would not have to be called an office of the CNRT,\" he said
\nof his Revolutionary Council for an Independent East Timor.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military said a CNRT office would not be
\nacceptable since the group did not represent all the East
\nTimorese people. President Abdurrahman however has overruled the
\nobjection and said that the decision was his to make.<\/p>\n
Xanana explained about reconciliatory measures being taken to
\ntry to bring all East Timorese together to rebuild their country.<\/p>\n
He had met with senior pro-Indonesia East Timorese politicians
\nto discuss the plan to establish a national council \"involving
\nrepresentatives of CNRT, 'them' and the church.\"<\/p>\n
The United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor
\n(UNTAET) has agreed that no decision would be made without the
\nconsent of the council, he added. (emb\/emf\/prb)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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