Australia 'not duped' by Jakarta over E. Timor

Australia 'not duped' by Jakarta over E. Timor

CANBERRA (Reuters): Australian Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer on Wednesday rejected news reports that his government had
been duped by assurances Indonesia was acting in good faith in
East Timor.

"They of course gave us constant assurances (but) we were
constantly unconvinced," Downer said in a statement.

The weekly news magazine, the Bulletin, said that Indonesian
security forces under Gen. Wiranto were behind much of the
violence that broke out in the wake of the Aug. 30 vote for
independence in East Timor.

Australian intelligence documents leaked to the magazine
showed that Downer knew about Jakarta's complicity all along, it
said.

"The documents leave no doubt that despite denials at the time
by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, the Australian government
was fully aware of the duplicitous role of the Indonesian
military," the Bulletin said.

Hundreds were killed by pro-Jakarta militiamen, backed by
elements of the military, in a campaign of retribution after the
vote in which East Timorese voted overwhelmingly in favor of
separation from Jakarta.

Downer said Canberra had consistently protested against the
actions of the Indonesian troops, making over 120 representations
to the regime of former president B.J. Habibie.

"But we never had confidence in the capacity of the Indonesian
military to live up to their responsibilities and that is why the
Australian government put the army together in Darwin, to be
prepared to move into East Timor if we had to," he said.

Australia is leading the 15-nation INTERFET force which ended
the violence in the stricken territory. INTERFET is due to be
replaced by a UN Transitional Authority in East Timor, UNTAET,
early next year in the run-up to independence.

Shadow foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton said Downer
had been too ready to believe denials by the then Indonesian
foreign minister that Jakarta was involved.

"Why did you publicly and repeatedly accept (former foreign
minister) Ali Alatas's February assurance that nothing was
happening other than an a legitimate arming of security
artilleries?" he asked Downer in parliament.

But Downer said the government would never have relied on the
Habibie regime's assurances alone.

"We had a large number of sources of information, different
analysts have written different things and put forward different
ideas and advice," he said.

"We, at the end of the day as a good government, make our own
judgments. I think our judgments were constantly good."