Susilo meets Xanana, conclude border issue<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boedhiwardana and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar\/Medan<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with Timor Leste President
\nXanana Gusmao at the Tampak Siring Palace in Denpasar, Bali, on
\nTuesday to discuss common issues, including the border between
\nthe two countries.<\/p>\n
Briefing the press after the three-hour dinner meeting,
\nIndonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said the
\ntwo leaders reached an agreement on the border issue.<\/p>\n
"We will sign a land border agreement early next year,
\nbeginning with a sea demarcation ...," Hassan said.<\/p>\n
He said Susilo and Xanana also agreed on the importance of
\nopen communications to address any problems that might arise
\nbetween Indonesia and Timor Leste.<\/p>\n
"We have reviewed our bilateral relations over the past three
\nyears and agreed to expand and deepen the dialog (between the two
\ncountries)," Hassan said.<\/p>\n
The meeting between the two men was the first since Susilo
\ntook the oath of office on Oct. 20.<\/p>\n
Susilo was accompanied at the meeting by Vice President Jusuf
\nKalla, while Xanana was accompanied by Prime Minister Mari
\nAlkatiri.<\/p>\n
The informal meeting was held two weeks after Timor Leste
\ndeported hundreds of Indonesians who were in the country without
\nthe necessary documents.<\/p>\n
"The issue (of the deportation) will be discussed by ministers
\nsince the two leaders did not specifically touch on the issue,"
\nHassan said.<\/p>\n
Timor Leste, Indonesia's former province, voted for
\nindependence in a United Nations-sponsored referendum in 1999.<\/p>\n
Xanana's visit is part of an overseas trip that also brought
\nhim to Japan.<\/p>\n
During the dinner, the two leaders agreed to accommodate
\ntraditional border crossings between the countries and to open
\nland routes East Nusa Tenggara to the Timor Leste capital Dili.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, dozens of Indonesians deported from Timor Leste
\nplan to bring their case to the International Court of Justice,
\nsaying they were illegally expelled from the country.<\/p>\n
They said they had lived in Timor Leste their entire lives and
\nhad been forced to abandon assets when they were exported from
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
"We will sue the East Timor government for deporting us. It
\nwas unjust treatment and should be brought to the International
\nCourt of Justice," Arham Appe told The Jakarta Post in Tanjung
\nPura, North Sumatra, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra accepted some 245 people who were deported from
\nTimor Leste following the enactment of a citizenships law that
\nrequires people to have lived in the country for more than 10
\nyears before obtaining citizenship.<\/p>",
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