RI vows determination to maintain East Timor<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday Indonesia is
\nready to face challenges to its rule of East Timor because the
\nmajority of the people have chosen to become part of the nation.<\/p>\n
The President's message was conveyed by F.X. Lopez da Cruz,
\nJakarta's ambassador at large on East Timor affairs, who met the
\nPresident to report on Indonesia's stand on reconciliatory talks
\nbetween pro- and anti-integration East Timorese, to be held from
\nJune 2-5 in Austria.<\/p>\n
"We will not move backward, not even a single step. We will
\nface all challenges that come from both within and outside
\nIndonesia," Lopez quoted the President.<\/p>\n
According to Lopez, Soeharto has pledged to continue defending
\nIndonesia's stance on East Timor, even when he is no longer the
\npresident of the republic.<\/p>\n
East Timor integrated with Indonesia in 1976 following the
\nabrupt withdrawal of its colonial administrator, Portugal, the
\nprevious year, which triggered a civil war.<\/p>\n
Thirty East Timorese will take part in next month's All-
\nInclusive Intra-East Timorese dialog, held under the auspices of
\nthe UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. It will be held
\nin the Austrian town of Burg Schlaining Schloss.<\/p>\n
Initially, the meeting was scheduled for April 24-26 in
\nSalzburg, Austria. But it was postponed after Indonesia raised
\nobjections to the manner in which Boutros-Ghali organized it,
\nwithout first consulting Indonesia about it.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has always emphasized that the dialog is not aimed at
\ntrying to find political solutions to the East Timorese question,
\nbut to avoid hampering discussions between Indonesia and
\nPortugal.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto, Lopez said, has encouraged the Indonesian
\ndelegation to be assertive in ensuring that their "brothers" in
\nexile know of Indonesia's determination to receive and treat East
\nTimorese people like any other citizen from other provinces.<\/p>\n
According to Lopez, the pro-integration camp will have 16
\nrepresentatives and the anti-integration camp 14 representatives
\nin the upcoming meeting.<\/p>\n
The pro-independence representatives will include Ramos Horta,
\nJoao Carrascalao, Zakarias and Abilio Araujo, who are all living
\nin exile, mostly in Portugal.<\/p>\n
The influential East Timor Bishop, Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo,
\nwill be present as an observer, Lopez said.<\/p>\n
Initially, Belo was invited by the UN as an ordinary
\nparticipant, but the Vatican has asked that the status be changed
\nto observer on the grounds that as a religious leader, he is
\nsupposed to take a neutral stand.<\/p>\n
"He (Belo) is not supposed to meddle in politics and represent
\nthe people of East Timor. He will position himself above all
\ninterested groups," Lopez said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, political observer Marzuki Darusman said yesterday
\nthat he and two activists had turned down an invitation from the
\nPortuguese parliament to attend a workshop, to be held from May
\n31 to June 2 in Lisbon, in connection with the Austrian meeting.<\/p>\n
"Upon studying the invitation, I decided that the workshop
\nwill be counter productive to the efforts to settle the East
\nTimorese problem peacefully," he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Included in the Lisbon workshop's topics are: the identity of
\nEast Timorese; Portugal as the administering power; East Timorese
\nresistance abroad; self determination; and violations of human
\nrights in the territory, Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
"I have the impression that the topics are biased and it is
\nhardly possible to have a genuine dialog," Marzuki said. Marzuki
\nis a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
He added that he turned down the invitation not because of any
\npressure from the Indonesian government but simply because he
\nbelieved the meeting would not be productive.(pan)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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