Annan hails Megawati's decision on Dili trip
Annan hails Megawati's decision on Dili trip
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed on Friday President
Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision to attend East Timor's
independence declaration and Indonesia's willingness to forget
the past.
"I thanked her for her conciliatory, wise and courageous
decision to go to East Timor," Annan said in a joint statement
that followed the plenary meeting at the State Palace.
"I think it is a firm indication that we have decided to put
the past behind us and look to the future."
Megawati will make a landmark visit to Dili, albeit only for
four hours, to witness Annan hand over UN authority to president-
elect Xanana Gusmao in a ceremony to take place at midnight on
Sunday. Dignitaries attending the event will include former U.S.
president Bill Clinton, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres.
Domestic criticism has come from, among other sources, the
House of Representatives, despite the People's Consultative
Assembly decree issued in 1999 accepting the separation of East
Timor from Indonesia.
In a bid to ease resentment over her visit, Megawati plans to
discuss Indonesian assets left in the former Indonesian province
and visit the Seroja Indonesian heroes cemetery in Dili.
During her meeting with Annan on Friday, Megawati personally
confirmed her proposed attendance at the celebrations in Dili.
Annan is scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirayuda before heading to Dili on Saturday.
Hassan said the human rights trial now under way in Jakarta
was not specifically discussed at the plenary meeting on Friday.
However, Annan renewed the UN's pledge to assist Indonesia in
the tribunal by offering technical assistance, such as workshops
for Indonesian ad hoc judges, and by sending observers.
Hassan said the government welcomed the pledges.
"Our courts are open to observers from both local and
overseas," Hassan said.
In his previous visit here in 2000, Annan said that Jakarta
should be given a chance to punish those responsible for the
mayhem in East Timor in 1999. But he warned that the Security
Council might decide to sanction its own inquiry if Indonesia's
response were unsatisfactory.
In the meeting, Indonesia also voiced concern over the "double
standards" applied by the UN in dealing with Israeli attacks on
Palestine recently.
"We conveyed our great concern over Palestine ... in line with
our Constitution, which suggests that Indonesia support
Palestine's struggle for freedom," Hassan said.
Indonesia incorporated East Timor into its territory for 24
years from 1975, after it had been colonized by the Portuguese
for centuries.
East Timor voted for independence in a UN-organized referendum
in 1999. The result of the vote sparked violence that was blamed
on pro-Jakarta militias and the Indonesian Military (TNI).
The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
(UNTAET) then took over the running of the province.