TNI pledges cooperation with multinational force<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Wednesday
\nthat it had accepted a United Nations Security Council decision
\nto send an Australia-led multinational force to East Timor.<\/p>\n
It also pledged full cooperation with the force if and when it
\narrives in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Others warned of a hostile reception for the multinational
\nforce from pro-Indonesia militias, who are bitter toward the
\nUnited Nations and Australia for their handling of the Aug. 30
\nballot won by pro-independence East Timorese.<\/p>\n
President B.J. Habibie welcomed Australia's role.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia never has any hostile feeling against any other
\ncountries,\" Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus told reporters
\nafter a cabinet meeting at Bina Graha.<\/p>\n
Yunus said TNI members will act as liaison officers and
\nobservers in the force.<\/p>\n
TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sudrajat told reporters the military
\nwas not in any position to reject the UN decision.<\/p>\n
\"We will be very cooperative. TNI is prepared to join the
\nmultinational force if asked. But if it is not needed, we will
\nonly be too happy to stay out,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"TNI will leave East Timor if it has to. It could remain
\nthere, not necessarily under the UN flag, but in its capacity to
\nhelp coordinate the work to safeguard the United Nations
\nmission.\"<\/p>\n
When asked about the role of Australia in the multinational
\nforce, Sudrajat said: \"People should understand that there have
\nbeen bitter feelings between people in the two countries.<\/p>\n
\"Political leaders in Indonesia and Australia should
\nunderstand the situation, and this should not jeopardize our
\nbilateral relationship that has been going on very well, (but)
\nnow is slightly disrupted,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Dili, the Military Emergency Command in East Timor said it
\nhad began preparations to make way for the arrival of the
\nmultinational force.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, who leads the command, told Antara
\nthat until the arrival of the UN force, TNI would continue with
\nits job of restoring peace in East Timor, particularly in Dili.<\/p>\n
The military has also been overseeing work to repair buildings
\nand property destroyed during a nearly week-long \"scorched-earth\"
\ncampaign blamed largely on pro-Indonesia militias.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that the priority for repair works was given
\nto the residence of the Dili Bishop, Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo,
\nand the buildings of humanitarian missions, including the
\nInternational Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN High
\nCommission for Refugees (UNHCR).<\/p>\n
Kiki warned that feelings among pro-Indonesia militias were
\nrunning high against ICRC and UNHCR workers because they felt
\ncheated by the international community after losing the ballot.<\/p>\n
\"I can guarantee their safety as long as they request
\nprotection and are willing to be escorted by the military. But if
\nthey do their own thing, it will be at their own risk,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In the West Timor border town of Atambua, a pro-Indonesia
\nmilitia leader said his men would \"eat the hearts\" of Australians
\nand anyone else included in a UN force, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
\"The PPI (Command of the Pro-Integration Struggle) will eat
\nthe hearts of those that come to East Timor,\" PPI leader Filomeno
\nKornai told reporters in the border town of Atambua.<\/p>\n
\"We reject a peacekeeping force from Australia and those
\ncountries which have betrayed the Aug. 30 popular consultation.\"<\/p>\n
Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a senior adviser to President Habibie
\nwarned that Australian troops could be singled out for militia
\nattacks.<\/p>\n
\"There is a very strong feeling of animosity towards
\nAustralia, rightly or wrongly, from the pro-integration forces in
\nEast Timor,\" Dewi told Australia's SBS television.<\/p>\n
Golkar Party Chairman Akbar Tandjung expressed his
\ndisappointment at the Australian role.<\/p>\n
\"We know Australia is not neutral and has its own political
\nagenda in East Timor,\" Akbar told reporters.<\/p>\n
Australia's leadership in the force could make the entire
\nmultinational force less than neutral, he said.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Soedjati Djiwandono foresaw problems if TNI
\nremained when the multinational force arrived.<\/p>\n
\"I am afraid the issue of cooperation between the UN force and
\nTNI may become a bone of contention.<\/p>\n
\"It's a unique experience. We have not heard of a case in
\nwhich the UN peacekeeping force cooperates with the local
\nmilitary ... This could be tricky,\" Soedjati said.<\/p>\n
\"Ideally, TNI should be withdrawn completely because I doubt
\nthat it can ever be impartial in East Timor.\"<\/p>\n
Small protests took place outside the British Embassy and the
\nAustralian Embassy on Wednesday, criticizing these two countries'
\nrole in the East Timor affair.<\/p>\n
The protests passed off without any major incidents.
\n(prb\/byg\/emf\/03)<\/p>",
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