Calls for restraint over Belo's remarks continue

JAKARTA (JP): Calls for restraint over East Timor Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo's controversial remarks in a German magazine continued yesterday.

Chairman of the 30-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem Organization Abdurrahman Wahid called on the nation not to take hasty measures against the bishop.

"It is not ethical to comment on such an unclear issue. I wonder whether those who have commented on the issue really heard the recorded interview," said Abdurrahman, better-known as Gus Dur.

There was the possibility that what Belo said was different to what appeared in the magazine, he said.

He called for people to maintain national unity by not exaggerating the issue.

The furor was sparked by Belo's remarks in an Oct. 14 edition of Der Spiegel, which quotes him as saying that Indonesian troops treated East Timorese people like "scabby dogs and slaves."

Belo, who last month shared the Nobel Peace Prize with exiled pro-independence activist Jose Ramos Horta, has not denied making the statement, but has asked for time to review a tape recording of the interview.

Appeals for restraint also came from the Communication Forum for Youths of Eastern Indonesia, which asked all parties not to politicize Belo's statement.

The Indonesian Nationalist Student Movement (GMNI), called on the nation to avoid reactionary attitudes.

"Mass gatherings held in response to any affair are no more appropriate," said a GMNI statement.

Meanwhile, a group of students of the East Timor University expressed their support for Belo and criticized several youth organizations for being narrow-minded in understanding the bishop's statement which was related to his struggle in East Timor.

"Belo's struggle for human rights protection in East Timor was objective," they said.

The students called on the government to implement policies in favor of the majority of East Timorese not just a few people.

The group said Belo's alleged statement was an indication of the failure of the Indonesian government's development policy for the East Timor province.

"The government should reevaluate its policy on East Timor development," they said.

The AFP news agency reported that about 3,000 East Timorese youths staged a peaceful rally in support of Belo in front of the governor's building in the capital city of Dili, in the third day of demonstrations there.

"The demonstrators are demanding that their support for Belo and their protest against criticism of the bishop be given straight to President Soeharto," a local resident told the news agency.

An East Timor University staff member said yesterday that the campus was quiet. The university had been the site of an earlier sit-in by hundreds of students in support of Belo.

Demonstrations, some supporting and others denouncing Belo, have hit Jakarta, Dili and other cities in the past few days. (imn/14)