Soeharto receives Mandela's letter<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has finally received the much
\npublicized letter from South African President Nelson Mandela
\nurging the release of jailed East Timorese rebel leader Jose
\nAlexandre \"Xanana\" Gusmao.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono said the letter had arrived
\nyesterday but he did not have a response from President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
\"The letter was received really late by our embassy in
\nPretoria,\" he said. \"I've asked our ambassador to find out why
\nthe letter arrived so late.\"<\/p>\n
Moerdiono confirmed that Mandela's letter did contain a
\nrequest for Xanana's release.<\/p>\n
\"President Soeharto will take the contents of the letter into
\nconsideration before making a final decision,\" he said. \"Whether
\nit will be announced or not is another matter.\"<\/p>\n
After meeting with Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio in
\nPretoria on Wednesday, Mandela told journalists that he had sent
\na letter to Soeharto urging for Xanana's release.<\/p>\n
But it was not until late yesterday evening that journalists
\nreceived confirmation of the letter's arrival.<\/p>\n
According to Moerdiono he received a report about the letter
\nyesterday afternoon from Head of State Protocol Dadang Iskandar.<\/p>\n
Xanana was arrested in East Timor in 1992 and sentenced to
\nlife imprisonment in May 1993. His sentence was later reduced to
\n20-years by President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
During Mandela's visit here last month, the South African
\nleader met with Xanana.<\/p>\n
East Timor was integrated into Indonesia in 1976 but the
\nUnited Nations still recognizes Portugal as the administrative
\nauthority there.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said Soeharto will view Mandela's request in the
\ncontext of finding an internationally acceptable solution to the
\nEast Timor issue.<\/p>\n
\"But of course we have our own considerations,\" he said. \"We
\nhave to remember that Xanana and his forces have claimed many
\ninnocent victims.\"<\/p>\n
Moerdiono had earlier noted that Xanana was jailed for
\ncriminal, not political, activities.<\/p>\n
When pressed if Soeharto would reply to the letter, Moerdiono
\nreplied: \"I haven't had an opportunity to ask the President about
\nwhat he's thinking of doing.\"<\/p>\n
Moerdiono expressed an apparent surprise that the whole matter
\nrose through the media in the way it did. He indicated that
\nMandela himself had promised to pursue a \"quiet\" line of
\ndiplomacy.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know how all this happened,\" he said. \"Wasn't it
\nagreed that from the beginning, as expressed by President Mandela
\nhimself, the (contents of the) meeting between President Soeharto
\nand Mandela would not be announced to the public.\" (prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soeharto-receives-mandelas-letter-1447893297",
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