AIETD participants discuss plan to set up cultural center
AIETD participants discuss plan to set up cultural center
JAKARTA (JP): The 35 participants of the Third All-Inclusive
Intra-East Timorese Dialog (AIETD) focused their second day of
discussions in Austria yesterday on establishing an East Timor
cultural center.
Participants still debated the center's structure, funding
sources and legal status.
Pro-Indonesian government participants demanded that
Indonesian law must be the legal basis for the establishment of
the center while those against integration argued that
international law be used instead.
"We are still not able to solve our divergences," Antara
quoted pro-integration participant Rui Lopes as saying.
The four-day meeting in Krumbach, Austria, was opened by the
United Nations special envoy for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker
Monday.
Atmosphere
The talks between pro- and anti-integration East Timorese is
aimed at reconciliating differences and creating a better
atmosphere for a solution to the East Timor issue.
East Timor was integrated as Indonesia's 27th province in
1976. The UN, however, does not recognize the integration and
still regards Portugal as the administrative power there.
Pro-integration participants include East Timor Governor
Abilio Jose Osario Soares, human rights activist Clementino dos
Reis Amaral and ambassador-at-large F.X. Lopes da Cruz.
Anti-integration participants include Ramos Horta, Abilio
Araujo and Mari Alkatiri.
Ramos Horta and Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo were
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Belo attended the
meeting as an independent participant.
The UN sponsored talks did not touch on political issues. This
will be left for talks between the Indonesian and Portuguese
governments under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General.
But Governor Soares said that political issues was not totally
taboo.
"The informal meeting is very useful in finding a solution to
our divergences either in social and political issues or in
cultural and economic matters," Soares said. (prb)