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)