Proindependence activists meet Gusmao in Jakarta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Proindependence East Timorese activists met on
\nSunday at jailed resistance leader Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\"
\nGusmao's special detention house in Central Jakarta, ahead of
\ntalks on Monday aimed at ending bloodshed in the former
\nPortuguese colony.<\/p>\n
An aide to Xanana told The Jakarta Post that Nobel laureate
\nJose Ramos-Horta, who is visiting Indonesia for the first time
\nsince he fled East Timor more than two decades ago, also attended
\nthe meeting.<\/p>\n
\"He arrived earlier in the morning, and the meeting is
\nexpected to continue until late in the evening,\" the aide told
\nthe Post by phone.<\/p>\n
Neither Ramos nor Xanana would comment on their meeting, which
\nwas held behind closed doors. They said they would only talk to
\nthe media on Wednesday, the final day of the reconciliation
\ntalks.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that several officials from the main
\nproindependence body, the Resistance Council of East Timor, were
\nseen arriving at the house on Sunday morning. Independence
\nactivists had also met there on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
Ramos and several other independence leaders spent the day
\ncelebrating the wedding of Xanana's nephew, held also at Xanana's
\ndetention house on Jl. Salemba.<\/p>\n
The church-sponsored peace talks, which started on Friday, are
\naimed at persuading pro-Jakarta militias and proindependence
\nguerrillas to lay down their arms ahead of an August ballot which
\nwill determine the future of the province.<\/p>\n
Violence has been on the rise between pro and anti-integration
\nsupporters in East Timor since the government said in January
\nthat it would relinquish the province if the East Timorese
\nrejected the government-sponsored autonomy proposal.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people have been killed in the province since the
\nstart of the year.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
\nordered a two-week delay in the scheduling of the ballot from the
\noriginal Aug. 8 date, citing security and logistics concerns.<\/p>\n
At the peace talks on Saturday, proindependence groups
\nemphasized the importance of cease-fire arrangements.<\/p>\n
\"They expressed concern at the use of violence and coercion in
\nthe service of political ends,\" an official statement from the
\ntalks' organizers said.<\/p>\n
The statement said pro-Jakarta groups were concerned about the
\nneutrality of a U.N. team assigned to supervise East Timor ahead
\nof the ballot.<\/p>\n
Ramos's presence at the gathering marked his first meeting
\nwith many of East Timor's resistance leaders in more than two
\ndecades. He fled the impoverished territory three days before
\nIndonesia deployed troops there in 1975 and has never been back.<\/p>\n
He has said he hopes to visit East Timor in July or August,
\nand that he is willing to guarantee the Indonesian authorities he
\nwould not campaign there for independence.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some 200 people, including school teachers, from
\nBaucau, Viqueque, Lotem and Liquica regencies in East Timor
\narrived in the South Sulawesi capital of Ujungpandang on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
They are among tens of thousands of people who have fled the
\ntroubled territory fearing further violence between pro and anti-
\nintegration supporters ahead of the ballot. (byg\/27)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/proindependence-activists-meet-gusmao-in-jakarta-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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