Habibie seeks E. Timor peace<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie endorsed the
\nestablishment of an independent rights commission to disarm
\nwarring factions in East Timor and restore peace so an
\ninternational presence would not be needed there, it was reported
\non Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas revealed the
\ndevelopment on Tuesday, saying the new commission was expected to
\nbe able to persuade warring factions to lay down their arms,
\nparticularly before and during a United Nations-sponsored direct
\nballot in July which will allow the people of East Timor to
\nchoose between independence or the government's wide-ranging
\nautonomy proposal.<\/p>\n
Jailed rebel leader Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao has agreed to be
\npart of the Independent Commission on Human Rights in Timor
\nLorosae, as has rights activist Bambang W. Soeharto, but there
\nwere no other details available about the number of members on
\nthe rights commission or who would chair the commission.<\/p>\n
Alatas said Habibie called for a cease-fire among warring
\nfactions in the province and ordered his Cabinet ministers to
\nhelp provide the International Committee of the Red Cross access
\nto work in the province.<\/p>\n
"The President regards this idea (the commission) as very
\nrelevant... especially asking them (the warring factions) to lay
\ndown their guns and stop their armed conflicts," Alatas said
\nafter accompanying the President to a meeting with the National
\nCommission on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the rights commission, Marzuki Darusman, said
\nthe new rights commission in East Timor would not involve East
\nTimorese living in exile. "This team is only for East Timorese
\npeople living here."<\/p>\n
Marzuki indicated it was possible that Xanana could visit Dili
\ndespite his status as a convict if his presence could help secure
\npeace in the troubled province.<\/p>\n
Marzuki hoped the commission would be able to bring peace so
\nthe presence of an international peacekeeping military operation
\nwould not be needed in the province.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in the East Timor capital of Dili, deputy police
\nchief Col. Muafi Sahudji said on late Monday a group of men
\nattacked a state prison in Baucau regency, some 115 kilometers
\neast of Dili, injuring three members of the National Police's
\nMobile Brigade unit on duty there.<\/p>\n
The assailants, suspected to be members of Falintil, the armed
\nwing of the East Timorese proindependence movement, fired shots
\nand threw grenades and Molotov cocktails in the attack, Muafi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Treatment<\/p>\n
He said the victims would be sent to the military hospital in
\nDili for treatment.<\/p>\n
In a separate incident, Antara reported an Army private was
\ninjured after a number of proindependence guerrillas attacked a
\nmilitary post in Viqueque regency, some 197 kilometers southeast
\nof Dili, on early Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The spokesman for the East Timor Military Command, Capt. Agus
\nNurkasa, was quoted by the news agency as saying that Private
\nKasnu had been taken to the Wira Husada Hospital in Dili.<\/p>\n
Agus said security forces were still searching for the
\nguerrillas.<\/p>\n
Tension has been escalating in East Timor since Jakarta
\nannounced in January it would consider independence for the
\nformer Portuguese colony if its autonomy proposal was rejected.<\/p>\n
Fear of escalating violence since the January announcement has
\nsparked an exodus of migrants from the province, although the
\nprecise number is unknown.<\/p>\n
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet Tallo was quoted by Antara as
\nsaying on Tuesday that about 26,000 people had fled from East
\nTimor to his province since the January announcement.<\/p>\n
"Currently, the number of people who have fled from East Timor
\nacross to East Nusa Tenggara has reached about 26,000, scattered
\nin several regencies," Piet was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
Tallo said 6,000 refugees were in Alor regency. He identified
\nother main refugee sites as the border regencies of Atambua and
\nBelo.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on
\nMonday urged restraint in East Timor, adding he had personally
\ncalled and asked Habibie to control the volatile situation in the
\nterritory.<\/p>\n
"I have myself appealed for restraint and I spoke to President
\nHabibie over the weekend ... encouraging the government to take
\nall necessary steps to contain the situation," Annan said during
\na visit to Madrid.<\/p>\n
He said the UN was not in a position to play a role on the
\nground in East Timor.<\/p>\n
"What we have are persuasive powers and contacts with the
\ngovernment in asking them to exercise their role of being
\nresponsible for peace and security in the territory and I hope
\nthis will happen," Annan said.<\/p>\n
"We also have appealed for restraint on all sides -- the
\nproindependence elements and the prointegration elements."<\/p>\n
On April 21, Indonesia is expected to resume talks with
\nPortugal under the auspices of the UN.<\/p>\n
Antara also reported Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto met
\non Tuesday with the chief of the Udayana Regional Military
\nCommand overseeing East Timor, Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, East Timor
\nMilitary Commander Col. Tono Suratman and head of the ABRI
\nIntelligence Agency Maj. Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, to discuss the
\nsituation in the territory. (33\/byg\/prb)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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