Alatas seeks E. Timorese youths' support
DILI, East Timor (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas solicited "constant and open support" for Indonesia's diplomatic efforts to resolve the East Timor problem from local youths yesterday.
"I expect the young people of East Timor to help me deal with the East Timor problem," Alatas said when meeting with the local cadres of the nation's dominant political organization, Golkar, in Ermera yesterday.
Alatas said that a number of young people, who took part at the recent meeting on East Timor in Austria, advocated the government's development programs and explained the positive aspects of the territory's integration with Indonesia.
"Such support causes all of those lies spread by a few individuals like Ramos Horta to go unheeded because people can begin to listen to East Timor residents," Alatas said.
East Timorese figures from Indonesia and abroad, some opposed to and some in support of the former Portuguese colony's integration into Indonesia in 1976, held a reconcilatory meeting in Austria early this month to seek a common perception on East Timor.
They agreed that such a meeting -- which did not discuss the political status of East Timor -- be held again in the future.
In response to a question posed by a local youth, Alatas said that from the Indonesian point of view, the East Timor integration problem was resolved long ago because most of the people have supported integration.
"But to foreign organizations, especially the United Nations, the problem is still there," he said.
The UN still considers Portugal, which colonized the territory for about 450 years, the legitimate administrator of East Timor.
He added that what the Indonesian government should do is to accelerate development to help East Timor catch up with the other provinces of Indonesia.
Alatas said that the East Timor problem will be resolved through trilateral talks involving Indonesia, Portugal and the UN secretary-general.
What each party seeks at present is a solution that satisfies all three parties. But the one thing that Indonesia will flatly reject is any proposal that a referendum be held, as has been demanded by anti-integration leaders, Alatas said.
"Referendum would mean to wind back the clock. This is impossible because it would mean that we do not appreciate all that the East Timorese did in order to integrate with Indonesia," he said.
In Jakarta, Indonesia's ambassador-at-large, overseeing the East Timorese, F.X. Lopez da Cruz, said yesterday that Indonesia has not decided on a proposal that the next reconciliatory meeting be held in Dili.
The proposal was made by a number of participants at this month's reconciliatory meeting in Austria.
This possibility has yet to be discussed by Alatas and the Portuguese foreign minister. They will be meeting again in Geneva on July 8 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
Also yesterday, the chief of the general affairs department of the Armed Forces (ABRI), Lt. Gen. Soeyono, visited East Timor and met with local military leaders.
"I meant to introduce myself to local military leaders," said the general who took the post in February. Soeyono used to serve in East Timor.
In his entourage were territorial assistant Maj. Gen. Talmica Ali, chief of the Army Strategic Reserves Maj. Gen. Tarub, chief of the Army Special Forces Brig. Gen. Soebagiyo, ABRI spokesman Brig. Gen. Soewarno and chief of the Udayana regional military command Maj. Gen. Adang Ruchiatna. (yac/pan)