Dutch give E. Timorese speedy flight
Dutch give E. Timorese speedy flight
JAKARTA (JP): Four East Timorese left for Portugal via Amsterdam only hours after they entered the Dutch embassy here on Monday, the quickest asylum seekers to have left the country in the recent spate of break-ins since last September.
Meanwhile, another group of four East Timorese at the Australian embassy broke the record yesterday for the longest ever hold-out when they began their second week in the compound.
They are the survivors of a group which previously consisted of nine people; the other five had left the embassy citing health problems.
The East Timorese who left on Monday entered the Dutch Embassy compound on Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta, in the morning and left less than 10 hours later to board a KLM flight bound for Amsterdam. This is the third time in six-months that East Timorese asylum seekers have entered the Dutch embassy compound.
It was the fastest departure in the recent wave of asylum bids. The record was previously held by two Timorese who entered the French embassy on Feb. 9 and left the next day.
With the departure they increased to 72 the number of East Timorese who have left for Portugal since mid-September after their initial requests for asylum to other countries were rejected.
The longest hold-out was previously made by 29 East Timorese youths who "resided" at the United States embassy for 13-days during the week of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit here in November 1994. Their demand for asylum to the U.S. was rejected and they opted for Portugal instead.
The East Timorese at the Australian embassy entered by scaling the mission's fences on Feb. 7.
The embassy has rejected their demands saying that there was no basis for asylum, and offered the option of either applying for a visa or going to Portugal.
Five of them left the embassy on Sunday. Three of them had to be immediately admitted to hospital after undertaking a two-day hunger strike, while the other two left the embassy in order to accompany their friends.
Informed sources say that at least three of them have been questioned by the police.
While recognizing East Timor's integration as Indonesia's 27th province, Australia has remained one of Jakarta's harshest critics on its policies in the former Portuguese colony and home for many anti-integration activists.
Meanwhile, AFP reported from Vatican City on Tuesday that a senior papal envoy was scheduled to visit Indonesia, including East Timor, and meet with President Soeharto and other civilian and military officials.
Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who is head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace was due to arrive yesterday. He is also expected to meet East Timor Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. (mds)