Habibie has no regrets in E. Timor<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Former president B.J. Habibie has no regrets in
\nholding a referendum that resulted in the people of East Timor
\noverwhelmingly voting for independence from Indonesia in 1999.<\/p>\n
\"I did it because I wanted to show the world that there was
\nfreedom in Indonesia,\" Habibie told Indonesian journalists in
\nHamburg, where he now lives, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
In the referendum, monitored by the United Nations (UN), East
\nTimorese voted for independence more than 20 years after
\nIndonesia invaded East Timor in 1976.<\/p>\n
Habibie said that the 1945 Constitution stated that
\nIndonesia's territory covered the area previously known as the
\nDutch East Indies, which did not include East Timor. \"Therefore
\nthere is no part of Indonesia called East Timor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
His critics call the referendum a blunder, with some going as
\nfar as demanding that Habibie be held responsible for the
\nbreakaway.<\/p>\n
Another consideration for the referendum, he said, was that
\nthe UN had never recognized East Timor as a part of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Because I respect human rights, I gave them (East Timorese)
\nthe option if they wanted to become part of Indonesia or wanted
\nindependence,\" he said. --Antara<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/habibie-has-no-regrets-in-e-timor-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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