Belo denied making remarks insulting ABRI, says Feisal
JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung said yesterday that East Timor Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo has denied making the derogatory remarks about the military printed in a German magazine recently.
"According to the East Timor Bishop, the article in Der Spiegel magazine, in which he denounced the armed forces, was not true," Feisal announced at his office.
Feisal did not personally meet the bishop, but the denial was apparently made when Belo met with leaders of the East Timor provincial government in Dili Monday night.
Speaking after bestowing Yudha Dharma Nararya medals to 57 senior military officers for outstanding achievement, Feisal said the denial would still have to be cross-checked with the article and, if possible, with the writer.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as quoted in the Oct. 14 edition of the German magazine, said Indonesian troops had treated East Timorese people like "scabby dogs" and "slaves."
The remarks provoked protests in Jakarta condemning the bishop. These in turn prompted massive protests in Dili supporting the bishop and denouncing the treatment the East Timorese Roman Catholic leader received during his visit in Jakarta last week.
Belo, a native East Timorese, has neither publicly confirmed nor denied making the remarks, but has promised to explain the matter at a news conference in Dili on Nov. 25.
In Dili, East Timor Police Chief Col. Yusuf Muharam said yesterday that during the meeting on Monday evening, Belo signed a statement saying that what he told the reporter in the interview was different from what was printed.
Belo admitted to giving an interview to the magazine's reporter by phone, to a person with a woman's voice, but it was five years ago, Yusuf said.
"The article did not portray the context of the interview at that time, according to Belo," Yusuf said.
The meeting was attended by East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, East Timor military chief Col. Mahidin Simbolon, East Timor chief prosecutor J.F. Martanto, and Yusuf himself.
"It was a short meeting followed by dinner," Yusuf said.
Twist
Yusuf said the bishop's remarks were twisted by the foreign reporter who does not like the Indonesian government.
It was designed to set Indonesians against Indonesians, to provoke the kind of reaction that erupted in Jakarta, he said.
The ripples following the Der Spiegel article continued yesterday with Kompas daily becoming the target of criticism.
About 100 Islamic youths marched to the newspaper's head office on Jl. Palmerah Selatan to protest at Kompas' coverage of the Der Spiegel affair which they said was biased and improper.
Deputy chief editor Ninok Leksono said Kompas had published a correction to one of the reports that provoked the protest.
In a related development, 15 U.S. senators Monday urged President Bill Clinton to raise the East Timor issue when he meets with President Soeharto in Manila next week.
In a letter the senators said Clinton should push the question of a UN-sponsored referendum for East Timorese people at the meeting.
They also expressed concern about reports of human rights violations in East Timor. Senators signing the letter included Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy, Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold and Rhode Island Republican John Chafee.
Soeharto and Clinton will be in Manila next week for the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. (imn/08/33)