Accord on East Timor

Accord on East Timor

An agreement concerning the future of East Timor was signed at
the United Nations headquarters in New York on Wednesday evening
by the Indonesian foreign minister, Ali Alatas, the Portuguese
foreign minister, Jaime Gama, and United Nations Secretary-
General Kofi Annan. It is hoped that with the signing of the
accord the East Timor issue, which each year appeared on the UN
General Assembly's agenda and for 16 years has been an obstacle
in Indonesia's foreign relations, can be terminated. However, it
is still a question whether the agreement, even when fully
implemented, can be entirely resolved and peace can be
established in the territory.

An agreement can only have meaning if trust, rather than
distrust, prevails. We are in the this context justified to feel
upset by reports that the UN Secretary-General, in a report to
the Security Council, has called on the Indonesian government to
withdraw its military presence in East Timor, as this implies
distrust on the part of the United Nations. A clarification
regarding this matter should be obtained from the UN Secretary-
General.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta