Assets, border issues await RI's envoy to E. Timor
Assets, border issues await RI's envoy to E. Timor
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta
Newly installed Ambassador Ahmed Bey Sofwan said assets,
reconciliation and border issues would be high on his agenda as
the country's first envoy to East Timor.
"I would like to focus on reconciliation between East Timorese
living in that country and those who still live in West Timor,"
Ahmed said after his installment ceremony on Thursday.
Over 20,000 East Timorese, mostly former pro-Jakarta militia
members and their families, live in refugee camps in West Timor.
They are reluctant to return to East Timor for fear that they
will be prosecuted for rights abuses committed in 1999.
Ahmed, a former high-ranking official at the National
Intelligence Agency (BIN), was installed on Thursday along with
seven other new envoys, including politician Jacob Tobing, who
was appointed ambassador to South Korea, and Makarim Wibisono,
who will serve as the permanent representative to the United
Nations in Geneva.
"I do not think my previous position in BIN has anything to do
with this appointment. Working in BIN does not necessarily mean
that I am a spy like James Bond," said Ahmed.
Ahmed's appointment comes some 18 months after East Timor sent
Rev. Arlindo Marcal to Jakarta as its first ambassador to
Indonesia.
"The installment of the Indonesian ambassador will definitely
support the ongoing negotiations between the two countries on
various residual issues," Marcal told The Jakarta Post.
He said his office was currently collecting data on 6,000
asset claims in East Timor by Indonesians.
"Only after the Indonesian government completes the data will
we send the cases to Dili for verification and further
processing," the ambassador said.
Jakarta and Dili have met twice to discuss, among other
issues, Indonesian assets in East Timor and have agreed to set up
a subcommittee to deal with asset claims. The subcommittee,
however, has yet to be formed.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said that with the
appointment of Ahmed as Indonesia's ambassador to East Timor, the
ongoing negotiations on land borders and assets could move
forward.
"We have to conclude discussions on about 10 percent of land
border issues before we can open new negotiations on maritime
borders. The border issues will be the main duty of the envoy,"
Hassan said.
He said the decision to appoint Ahmed as Indonesia's
ambassador to East Timor had nothing to do with his position as a
senior intelligence officer, but rather his capabilities and
qualifications.
Ahmed served as deputy head of Indonesia's Trade Office in
Taipei before joining BIN.
List of envoys installed Thursday.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Name Country
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Makarim Wibisono Permanent Representative to UN Geneva
Ahmed Bey Sofwan East Timor
Nurrachman Oerip Cambodia
Hertomo Reksodiputro Tunisia
Nuni Turniati Joko Romania
Jacob Tobing South Korea
Warmas Hassan Saputra Bangladesh
Hupudiro Supardi Zimbabwe
----------------------------------------------------------------