Indonesia pleads for more time on East Timor<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas called on
\nthe United Nations and the international community on Thursday to
\ngive Indonesia time to prove it was capable of restoring law and
\norder in East Timor.<\/p>\n
The minister said with the imposition of a state of military
\nemergency in the territory, the government was now able to
\nquickly improve the situation.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, he did not set a specific time frame for
\nrestoring order to East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"It's only been two days (since the imposition of martial law)
\nand things are already improving,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Give us time now and see the results. Judge us by the fact
\nthat under the role and under the arrangements of martial law, we
\ncan now restore law and order,\" Alatas said.<\/p>\n
Speaking after attending a meeting between President B.J.
\nHabibie and a five-member UN Security Council mission at Merdeka
\nPalace, Alatas said martial law provided a legal foundation to
\ntake the necessary measures to quell the situation in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Alatas once again reiterated Indonesia's rejection of an
\ninternational peacekeeping force in East Timor until the People's
\nConsultative Assembly officially annulled the 1978 decree which
\nintegrated East Timor into Indonesia.<\/p>\n
For now the government welcomes any humanitarian assistance,
\nbut rejects foreign troops, he said.<\/p>\n
Alatas said Habibie would only consider talks on a UN
\npeacekeeping force if the new military approach failed.<\/p>\n
\"If it doesn't work, our President has said we are willing to
\nsit down and talk about (a peacekeeping force) ... but right now
\nI think it's only fair and reasonable and rational to allow this
\nnew situation to take place in East Timor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He brushed aside continued accusations by the UN Mission in
\nEast Timor (UNAMET) that Indonesia was making no effort to stop
\nthe wave of violence in the East Timor capital of Dili.<\/p>\n
\"This is, sorry to say, the greatest nonsense that I ever
\nheard,\" the minister stated.<\/p>\n
To those who are continuing to press for an international
\npeacekeeping force, he said: \"How effective can a peacekeeping
\noperation be when there is no peace to keep ... it would quickly
\nturn into a peace-enforcing mission.\"<\/p>\n
\"We have so much experience in the UN about this type of
\nmission and about the failures of this type of mission,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The UN Security Council mission, led by Namibia's Martin
\nAndjaba, will depart for Dili on Saturday to assess the situation
\nbefore returning to Jakarta for further meetings with Habibie.<\/p>\n
Andjaba said he would discuss the details of the visit to Dili
\nwith Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Wiranto on Friday.<\/p>\n
Habibie also received telephone calls on the situation in East
\nTimor from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, British Prime
\nMinister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and
\nMalaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Separately, Habibie spokeswoman Dewi Fortuna Anwar expressed
\nhope that martial law would only be imposed in East Timor for two
\nweeks.<\/p>\n
\"We hope it will not last long,\" Dewi said while warning that
\nprolonged martial law could have negative impacts, including
\nhuman rights abuses.<\/p>\n
Force<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in London, a spokesman for British Prime Minister
\nTony Blair said an agreement had been reached with United States
\nPresident Bill Clinton to support efforts to get an international
\nforce into East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"They agreed on the importance of supporting efforts to get an
\ninternational UN force to East Timor, subject to approval by the
\nUN Security Council and the Indonesian government,\" Reuters
\nquoted the spokesman as saying.<\/p>\n
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Thursday that
\nClinton assured him of the United States' assistance if a
\nmultinational peacekeeping force was assembled.<\/p>\n
\"If there is a decision to commit an international
\npeacekeeping force then the United States will support that
\ncommitment in a tangible way,\" AFP quoted Howard as saying in
\nCanberra.<\/p>\n
However, top U.S. officials in Washington, including Defense
\nSecretary William Cohen and National Security Adviser Sandy
\nBerger, seemed to express wariness at the prospect of stationing
\nAmerican troops in East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"The United States cannot be, and should not be, viewed as the
\npoliceman of the world,\" Cohen said.<\/p>\n
Berger also ruled out any unilateral action: \"Because we
\nbombed Kosovo doesn't mean we should bomb Dili.\"<\/p>\n
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, who was in Auckland
\nattending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on
\nThursday, said an international presence in East Timor should be
\nconsidered only if all efforts by the Indonesian government
\nfailed.<\/p>\n
\"If all efforts by the Indonesian government fail, there may
\narise a need to seriously consider an international presence (in
\nEast Timor),\" Komura was quoted by Japanese officials as saying.<\/p>\n
Iraq on Thursday became one of the few countries which seemed
\nto sympathize with Jakarta's position, urging the international
\ncommunity to allow Indonesia to resolve the crisis by itself.<\/p>\n
\"Iraq strongly opposes any foreign intervention in national
\naffairs and urges (the international community) to allow the
\nIndonesian government to settle the Timor crisis and avoid
\nspilling blood,\" Iraq's spokesman said in Baghdad on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
China said it remained \"open-minded\" about the prospect of an
\ninternational peacekeeping force, a spokesman said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"We have taken note that the Indonesian government imposed
\nmartial law. We hope that with the concerted efforts of the
\nIndonesian government, the UN and relevant parties, stability can
\nprevail in East Timor,\" the spokesman said. (prb)<\/p>",
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