Boutros-Ghali to send envoy to East Timor

Boutros-Ghali to send envoy to East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): United Nations Secretary General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali is sending a special envoy to East Timor as a
forerunner to the fourth round of talks in January between
Indonesia and Portugal.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas made the
confirmation yesterday but emphasized that various envoys would
be sent.

"Ahead of the tripartite talks, the secretary general will
send two envoys to Indonesia and also to Portugal," Alatas said.

Under the aegis of Boutros Ghali, the Indonesian and
Portuguese foreign ministers are due to meet for the fourth round
of talks in Geneva to settle the issue of East Timor on Jan. 9,
1994.

The three prior meetings, though skirting the core issue of an
internationally acceptable solution to East Timor problem, agreed
on a series of confidence building measures which have led to a
visit by Portuguese of East Timorese descent to Jakarta and East
Timor last March.

East Timor became a part of Indonesia in 1976, a move which to
this day has not been recognized by the United Nations.

The arrival of the envoys is nothing new as the UN and other
state delegations send observers to Indonesia's youngest province
periodically.

Speaking on the 29 East Timorese youngsters who recently left
Jakarta for asylum in Portugal, Alatas scoffed at their actions
saying that they would soon realize the hardships of living in
exile. "Let them experience for themselves how bitter it is to
live in a country that once subjected you," he said.

The 29 East Timorese scaled the fence of the United States
embassy on Nov. 12 and occupied the parking ground for 12 days
until their departure for Lisbon on Nov. 24.

"Those 29 must have been roused by outside people," Alatas
said.

In the East Timor capital yesterday, Dili Police Chief Col.
Andreas Sugianto said yesterday that his officers have arrested a
civil servant believed to have been the "brain" behind a series
of anti-government demonstrations these past two weeks.

Col. Sugianto further said that the police are also hot on the
trail of others behind the riot. "We haven't had the right
opportunity to arrest them. The police are still seeking
additional information," he remarked.

Spokespersons for the PPP and PDI provincial factions
yesterday in Dili called on the authorities to show leniency for
the young men arrested, citing economic hardship and other social
problems as reasons for the riot. (mds/yac)