Australia drawn deeper into E. Timor

By Endy M. Bayuni and Ati Nurbaiti

NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Australian Prime Minister John Howard will meet President B.J. Habibie here on Tuesday to discuss the East Timor problem as pressure grows on Canberra to take a more active role in the East Timor conflict.

Howard arrived here on Monday evening, accompanied by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Defense Minister John Moore. Habibie's entourage, which arrived some time after the Australians, includes Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and Minister of Security and Defense/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.

The summit signals not only Australia's increasing concern about the situation in East Timor, but also domestic and international pressure for Canberra to shoulder its share of the burden amid signs of a possible breakthrough that will finally settle the East Timor problem.

Howard, however, played down expectations of a new Australian role in East Timor emerging from his meeting with Habibie.

"It's important that we have a realistic sense of what Australia can achieve," Howard said in Canberra before boarding his plane for Bali on Monday.

"It's important to understand that Timor is part of Indonesia and it's absolutely essential if progress is to be made that we engage the Indonesian government in a very positive and constructive way," he said.

Habibie, during a meeting with Australian editors in Jakarta last week, said he expected Canberra to take a leading role in observing a United Nations-sponsored ballot expected to take place in July or August, in which the East Timorese will decide whether to accept Jakarta's offer of remaining in the republic with wide-ranging autonomy.

If the East Timorese reject the offer, Indonesia will begin the process of separation from East Timor, which could occur as early as Jan. 1, 2000.

Australia, however, has ruled out committing troops under a UN peacekeeping force, stressing that security in East Timor remains the responsibility of the Indonesian military.

Howard said in Canberra last week that Australia would not send troops unless there was a "clear national benefit".

"When people say we've got to do something, the best asset Australia can bring to the dispute is influence," he said.

Analysts say Canberra is expected to take part in any future UN peacekeeping force in East Timor should the security situation in the territory deteriorate before or after the ballot.

Security arrangements ahead of the ballot was one of two sticking points which stalled the agreement on the text of the East Timor autonomy proposal by the Indonesian and Portuguese foreign ministers at the United Nations last week. The agreement is now expected to be signed on May 5.

Indonesia has agreed to some form of UN presence ahead of the ballot, but has ruled out international peacekeeping troops, stressing that the Indonesian military remains in charge.

But the escalation of violence between proindependence and pro-Indonesian groups has raised doubts about the military's ability, not only to keep the two groups apart, but also to remain impartial amid accusations that elements of the military have been training and arming the pro-Indonesia militia.

The Bali summit was hastily arranged following a phone call between Howard and Habibie last week during which the prime minister expressed concern over the escalation of violence in East Timor.

The security situation is expected to feature prominently in the summit.

"We want to see the United Nations process -- that we have been involved in helping put together -- we want to see it succeed but we also want to see the security situation on the ground in East Timor substantially improved," Downer said on his arrival in Bali on Monday morning.

Australia has been a staunch supporter of Indonesia's rule in East Timor -- it signed an agreement to jointly explore the mineral resources in the sea off Timor in 1991 -- and also the most vocal critic of Jakarta's policy in the province.

Canberra made a sudden policy shift late last year, saying it recognized the possibility of a referendum to allow the East Timorese to determine their future if the special autonomy proposal offered by Jakarta failed to work.

Officials in Jakarta said this policy shift influenced Habibie's landmark decision in January to consider granting immediate independence to East Timor if the autonomy proposal was rejected.

In Dili, East Timor, the National Commission on Human Rights facilitated the first plenary meeting of the East Timor National Commission on Human Rights on Monday.

Set up as part of the effort to bring peace to the province, the East Timor commission comprises representatives of conflicting parties, the community and authorities. The Catholic Church is represented by Dili Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, among others.

The East Timor commission will address areas affected by the many disputes in the territory, including education, health, the economy and press freedom, national commission executive Djoko Soegijanto, who presided over the meeting, said.

Djoko said the Commission for Stability and Peace, set up in conjunction with the peace pact signed by prointegration and proindependence forces on Wednesday last week, would reduce the workload of the East Timor commission.

"The Commission for Stability and Peace will work on human rights violations such as terrorist acts and killings," Djoko said after the three-hour meeting in Becora district.

He said the five proindependence representatives on the East Timor commission could not make it to the event, adding the meeting was hastily organized.

Liandro Isac of the proindependence CNRT organization was sick and his coordinator David Ximenes was in hiding. Their homes were attacked last Saturday, part of a series of attacks on Saturday which left 13 people dead.

Also on Monday, United States Ambassador to Indonesia Stapleton J. Roy visited Bishop Belo, but details of the meeting were not available.