Belo stresses need for dialog to end conflicts
Belo stresses need for dialog to end conflicts
DILI (JP): East Timorese and people from other provinces need
to improve mutual respect and understanding so they can live side
by side in harmony, the Bishop of East Timor, Carlos Filipe
Ximenes Belo, said yesterday.
Indonesians, who consist of over 300 ethnic groups embracing
five "official" religions, he said, are "basically" a peace-
loving people who shun conflict.
"Better respect and understanding of each other can only be
best achieved through dialogs," the bishop told an open dialog
with local youth, government and military leaders attended by 600
people.
Sponsored by the Indonesian Youth Committee, the leaders
discussed a wide range of topics including human rights, liquor,
East Timorese political detainees and prostitution in the
province.
Belo, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner, said dialogs are
especially important to solve the social and religious conflicts
Indonesia has experienced over the past few months.
The bishop, probably the most popular figure in the
predominantly Roman Catholic territory, is well-known for his
criticism of injustices in East Timor.
Last year East Timor was rocked by an ethnic and religious
riot triggered by a street brawl involving an indigenous trader
and a Bugis ethnic hawker.
The authorities in the former Portuguese colony have been
facing low-level armed secessionist rebellion since it became
part of Indonesia in 1976.
Jakarta has repeatedly turned down some East Timor leaders'
calls for special status and greater autonomy on the grounds that
the youngest province has already enjoyed unique development
benefits.
Belo said he supported dialogs as a way to avoid conflict in
East Timor as long as all participating parties are sincere and
none act as the "commander."
Yesterday's dialog was also attended by Governor Abilio Jose
Osorio Soares, East Timor's military chief Col. Mahidin Simbolon
and local police chief Col. Yusuf Mucharam.
During a lively discussion, Belo proposed that all the
political parties that existed before the territory integrated
into Indonesia should be involved in all talks aimed at seeking a
solution to the East Timor question.
Repeatedly saying that he did not mean to meddle in politics,
he argued that only if Fretilin, UDT, APODETE, Kota and
Trabalista were involved would the results be acceptable to all
East Timorese.
Meanwhile, governor Abilio defended his policy to accept
transmigrants from other provinces despite criticism from
indigenous people.
Abilio argued that the transmigration program had brought
positive results, such as East Timor natives learning more
sophisticated farming techniques.
At the beginning, he said, he was the one who opposed the
state-sponsored program but he reversed his stance after Jakarta
agreed that all farmers to be resettled should be Catholic.
Simbolon was flooded with questions on allegations of
persistent abuses of human rights in East Timor.
He said it was unfair to place the responsibility for better
respect for human rights solely on the military. "It's everyone's
job," he said. (33/pan)
DILI (JP): East Timorese and people from other provinces need
to improve mutual respect and understanding so they can live side
by side in harmony, the Bishop of East Timor, Carlos Filipe
Ximenes Belo, said yesterday.
Indonesians, who consist of over 300 ethnic groups embracing
five "official" religions, he said, are "basically" a peace-
loving people who shun conflict.
"Better respect and understanding of each other can only be
best achieved through dialogs," the bishop told an open dialog
with local youth, government and military leaders attended by 600
people.
Sponsored by the Indonesian Youth Committee, the leaders
discussed a wide range of topics including human rights, liquor,
East Timorese political detainees and prostitution in the
province.
Belo, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner, said dialogs are
especially important to solve the social and religious conflicts
Indonesia has experienced over the past few months.
The bishop, probably the most popular figure in the
predominantly Roman Catholic territory, is well-known for his
criticism of injustices in East Timor.
Last year East Timor was rocked by an ethnic and religious
riot triggered by a street brawl involving an indigenous trader
and a Bugis ethnic hawker.
The authorities in the former Portuguese colony have been
facing low-level armed secessionist rebellion since it became
part of Indonesia in 1976.
Jakarta has repeatedly turned down some East Timor leaders'
calls for special status and greater autonomy on the grounds that
the youngest province has already enjoyed unique development
benefits.
Belo said he supported dialogs as a way to avoid conflict in
East Timor as long as all participating parties are sincere and
none act as the "commander."
Yesterday's dialog was also attended by Governor Abilio Jose
Osorio Soares, East Timor's military chief Col. Mahidin Simbolon
and local police chief Col. Yusuf Mucharam.
During a lively discussion, Belo proposed that all the
political parties that existed before the territory integrated
into Indonesia should be involved in all talks aimed at seeking a
solution to the East Timor question.
Repeatedly saying that he did not mean to meddle in politics,
he argued that only if Fretilin, UDT, APODETE, Kota and
Trabalista were involved would the results be acceptable to all
East Timorese.
Meanwhile, governor Abilio defended his policy to accept
transmigrants from other provinces despite criticism from
indigenous people.
Abilio argued that the transmigration program had brought
positive results, such as East Timor natives learning more
sophisticated farming techniques.
At the beginning, he said, he was the one who opposed the
state-sponsored program but he reversed his stance after Jakarta
agreed that all farmers to be resettled should be Catholic.
Simbolon was flooded with questions on allegations of
persistent abuses of human rights in East Timor.
He said it was unfair to place the responsibility for better
respect for human rights solely on the military. "It's everyone's
job," he said. (33/pan)