Australia might be behind Atambua: Mahfud

Australia might be behind Atambua: Mahfud

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Mahfud MD said here on
Saturday that he agreed with the deputy chairman of Commission I
of the House of Representatives that Australia might be behind
the mayhem in Atambua last week.

Mahfud said that evidence collected by his office indicates
Australia's possible involvement in the attack which resulted in
the death of three UN humanitarian workers. He refused to reveal
the evidence his office had lest the investigation is
jeopardized.

He was referring to Maj. Gen. Ferry Tinggogoy's statement on
Australia's alleged involvement. Tinggogoy, a retired Army
general, is a member of the military/police faction of the House.

He said he would meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense William
Cohen to discuss many things, including the Atambua killing. "We
just want the world to see Indonesia in a fair way, especially
with regards to the Atambua case."

According to Mahfud, the world had failed in helping East
Timor form a transitional government. "They (UNTAET) have been
there for almost one year, yet they have not succeeded, claiming
that there are indications that many proindependence supporters
have changed their mind and want to be part of Indonesia.

"It appears there are certain countries that keep their hands
off but conduct intelligence operations to create the impression
that Indonesia has failed to deal with the East Timorese refugees
and militia."

Mahfud also said that UNTAET's failure to form a transitional
government in East Timor was due to the fact that the East
Timorese are not ready to govern themselves yet. "They are not
ready for independence."

"We were forced to hold the voting, but we were then blamed
for it. The world has treated us in an unfair manner. We followed
what the world wanted but we are now blamed for that too."

Mahfud said all the points requested by the UN Security
Council resolution had been fulfilled by the Indonesian
government, despite the fact that the resolution had a legal
defect. "It states that the Atambua attack took place on Sept. 7
when it should have been Sept. 6."

"Nothing happened in Atambua on Sept. 7. The UN only used the
London-based BBC Radio reports as a basis to draft the
resolution, without cross checking. That's funny, incorrect and
unprofessional," he added. (swa)