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