Rival East Timor factions to start new peace talks<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (JP): The second round of peace talks between
\ndisputing factions in East Timor will begin this weekend in
\nJakarta with 30 members from both the prointegration and
\nproindependence camps, including 1996 Nobel Peace Prize co-
\nlaureate Ramos Horta.<\/p>\n
The talks, called the Dare II talks after the mountainous area
\nin West Dili where the first round of talks took place in
\nSeptember last year, will take place in Jakarta among others so
\njailed proindependence leader Jose Alexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao can
\nparticipate.<\/p>\n
\"Xanana will be taken from his special detention house
\ntomorrow at 8 a.m. to the (hotel) airport,\" Xanana's lawyer
\nHendardi said. He was referring to the Sheraton Bandara Hotel in
\nCengkareng, west of here. However a reservations officer at the
\nhotel said she was not aware of the planned event there.<\/p>\n
The event is scheduled to take place from Friday to Wednesday,
\nincluding preparations, but organizers in Dili would not reveal
\nthe dates of the actual talks.<\/p>\n
Like the first Dare talks, the event is jointly sponsored by
\nDili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Baucau Bishop Basilio
\ndo Nascimento.<\/p>\n
In the talks last September, the prointegration and
\nproindependence parties agreed to recognize their differing views
\nand refrain from violence.<\/p>\n
However, President B.J. Habibie's announcement in January that
\nthe government would grant East Timor independence if its offer
\nof wide-ranging autonomy was rejected triggered continued
\nviolence between the two factions.<\/p>\n
The two bishops and other East Timorese figures departed Dili
\nfor Jakarta on Thursday. Among those traveling to the capital for
\nthe talks were ambassador-at-large for East Timor and Front of
\nthe People of East Timor chairman Lopez da Cruz, and other
\nprointegration leaders from the Forum for Peace, Democracy and
\nJustice (FPDK), apart from Mahidi and Saka militia group leaders.<\/p>\n
Representatives of the East Timor National Commission for
\nHuman Rights and the Commission for Peace and Stability also
\ndeparted for Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said the government had
\nissued a visa to Horta to enable him attend the meeting. He said
\nHorta would be allowed to visit Indonesia as long as he refrained
\nfrom campaigning here.<\/p>\n
\"About visiting East Timor, we will see later,\" Alatas said
\nbefore attending a meeting of the Council of Enforcement of
\nSecurity and Law at Bina Graha presidential office. The meeting
\nwas chaired by President B.J. Habibie.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Embassy in Australia announced on Thursday it
\nhad issued visas to several self-exiled independence leaders,
\nincluding Mario Alkatiri and Manuel Viegas Carrascalao.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that before being issued a visa, Alkatiri was
\nrequired to sign a statement saying he was traveling to Indonesia
\nonly to attend the peace talks.<\/p>\n
After attending the council meeting at Bina Graha, Minister of
\nDefense and Security\/Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen.
\nWiranto said the government had proposed the United Nations open
\nadditional polling stations for the direct ballot on the future
\nof East Timor in Bandung, West Java; Semarang, Central Java;
\nKupang, East Nusa Tenggara; and Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
He said there were large numbers of East Timorese living in
\nthese cities. The UN previously agreed to establish polling
\nstations in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, East Timor, Denpasar
\nand Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
\"It is better to add more polling stations rather than
\nmobilizing eligible voters to vote in other cities,\" Wiranto
\nsaid. He added TNI had set a July 5 deadline for prointegration
\nand proindependence forces to surrender their weapons to the
\npolice or military.<\/p>\n
Also on Thursday UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's personal
\nrepresentative on East Timor Jamsheed Marker arrived in Dili to
\ncheck the latest security developments in the province.<\/p>\n
His arrival came two days after Annan announced a two-week
\ndelay of the direct ballot, originally scheduled for Aug. 8, for
\nsecurity and logistical considerations.<\/p>\n
The spokesman for the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), David
\nWimhurst, said he had received death threats and was now being
\nprotected by UN security personnel.<\/p>\n
Wimhurst has been the target of criticism by pro-Indonesian
\nforces and the government, which have accused him of favoring
\nproindependence groups. FPDK spokesman Basilio Dias Araujo said
\nWimhurst should be replaced by someone more neutral. (prb\/33)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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