Clinton satisfied at E. Timorese handling

Clinton satisfied at E. Timorese handling

JAKARTA (JP): United States President Bill Clinton said
yesterday he had been given assurances by the Indonesian
government that the 29 young East Timorese who are occupying the
U.S. embassy parking lot will not be punished when their standoff
comes to an end.

"We have been assured that there will be no retribution
against them for exercising their political expression and
bringing their concerns to us," Clinton told a press conference
at the U.S. embassy.

"I feel comfortable that the commitment we received will be
honored," he said.

The East Timorese yesterday were bracing to spend their third
night at the embassy compound.

They scaled the spiked embassy fence on Saturday morning and
have refused to leave until their demands are met, which includes
the release of Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, currently serving
a 17-year jail term for leading an armed rebellion in East Timor.

The youths yesterday were no longer insisting on seeing either
Clinton or U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and said
they were prepared to meet with President Soeharto or Minister of
Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas.

Their other demands include asylum in Portugal and the release
of East Timorese now serving time in prisons.

Efforts yesterday to mediate by the National Commission on
Human Rights, which includes East Timorese Clementino Dos Reis
Amaral, failed to end their occupation of the embassy compound.

Indonesian officials have dismissed the embassy occupation as
a "publicity stunt" created to take advantage of the presence of
hordes of foreign journalists covering the APEC conference.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said last night that it
was now up to the U.S. government to deal with the East Timorese.

"We have given the assurances that we will leave them alone if
they get out. Now, it is up to the U.S. embassy how to handle
them," he said.

Rejected

The military meanwhile rejected the demands for Xanana's
release as "unreasonable."

"They know it is impossible to release Xanana, who has been
convicted in court. They made the demand just to attract public
attention," Armed Forces chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Syarwan
Hamid, was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.

The demonstration at the embassy was an attempt to discredit
the good name of Indonesia in an international forum, Syarwan
said.

At the press conference yesterday, Clinton said that he did
not see the embassy occupation as something which raised concern
for his government or disturbed his visit in Indonesia.

"We have no problem with these young people coming and
expressing their views on our embassy grounds," he said

On a separate occasion, Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating
dismissed suggestions that the embassy occupation and Sunday's
riot in Dili, capital of East Timor, were drawing attention away
from the APEC leaders meeting scheduled for today.

"This is always an issue and has been an issue for years...
but it is not overshadowing what is happening here," he told
journalists. "You get no sense of that speaking to any of the
leaders. So, this may be a media view, but it is not a view here
in reality," he said.

The international media covering the APEC conference described
the event as a major embarrassment for the Indonesian government.

"That is not to say that the issue isn't important or that it
is not something that we shouldn't work on," he said, adding that
he hoped to see improvement in the development and economic
condition of East Timor in the future.

Clinton also said that East Timor will remain an issue of
concern to the United States. (yns/mas/sim/emb)