Australia accepts new RI envoy
Australia accepts new RI envoy
CANBERRA (Agencies): Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans,
while accepting the appointment of an Indonesian general as
Jakarta's next ambassador, said yesterday that the general may
soon have to explain some of the remarks he purportedly made
about an incident in East Timor four years ago.
Evans, in comments widely reported by the Australian press
yesterday, said however that Canberra did not see any reason to
refuse Jakarta's appointment Lt. Gen. (ret.) H.B.L. Mantiri as
Indonesia's next ambassador, according to Antara.
"He's fully qualified for the post," Evans was quoted by
Antara as telling reporters yesterday.
Mantiri had no personal involvement in the Dili incident and
is "favorably known to many in Australia", especially in the area
of defense, Evans said, noting that he was the personal choice of
President Soeharto for the posting, Reuters reported.
The appointment of Mantiri to replace Ambassador Sabam Siagian
has not been formally announced in Jakarta. Sabam, a former
senior journalist, is scheduled to end his term in Canberra this
month. Officials in Jakarta were not available yesterday for
comment regarding the news about Mantiri.
Mantiri, 55, was appointed as chief of the Udayana Regional
Military Command, which also oversees East Timor, not long after
the bloody incident in the streets of Dili in November 1991.
The government maintains that around 50 people were killed in
clashes between troops and East Timorese demonstrators, an
incident that sparked an international furor, including most
notably from Australia.
The Australian reprinted yesterday excerpts of an interview
Mantiri gave to the Indonesian news magazine Editor in its July
1992 edition. Commenting on the Dili incident, Mantiri reportedly
said, "We don't regret anything. What happened was quite proper,"
Antara said in a dispatch from the Australian capital.
Evans said however that unless Mantiri explained his
statement, he would receive a great deal of questioning from the
Australian media and public during his tenure here, AFP reported.
Evans was questioned about the nomination again during a Labor
caucus meeting yesterday.
"He indicated that obviously there would be concerns and that
he hoped the new ambassador would see fit to explain his earlier
statements," a caucus spokeswoman said.