E. Timor leaders hail 'special status' offer
E. Timor leaders hail 'special status' offer
JAKARTA (JP): The landmark agreement between Indonesia and
Portugal to discuss the former's offer of "special status" for
East Timor was enthusiastically welcomed yesterday in the tiny
province as a step forward.
Community leaders lauded the move for giving hope that a
solution to the long-standing dispute could at last be in the
works.
Head of the board of directors of the Center for East Timor
Development Studies, Domingos Maria das Dores Soares, said in the
provincial capital Dili that the results of the two-day meeting
in New York gave a sense of optimism to the East Timorese.
At the very least, he said, the two sides were not adverse to
the idea of the "special status, based on a wide-ranging
autonomy".
He said the exact specifics of the status should be left to
the East Timorese to draft to avoid the impression that the
people were excluded from the determination of their own fate.
East Timor youth leader Carlos F. Borromeo Duarte said the
meeting's conclusion displayed Portugal's intent to resolve
outstanding issues.
"What's important is that Portugal has the goodwill to resolve
the issue. Why did Portugal always move back and forth over the
issue of East Timor? Well, because they didn't want to lose face
after having deserted it in 1975," he was quoted as saying by
Antara news agency.
At the end of the talks, held under the aegis of UN Secretary-
General Kofi Annan between the Indonesian and Portuguese foreign
ministers, the two sides announced in a communique they would
discuss granting autonomy to the province.
The measure would allow East Timorese full governance except
in the areas of foreign affairs, external defense and some
monetary policies, Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali
Alatas was quoted as saying by AP.
It would not mean a full withdrawal of forces, he said.
"There may be a residue of forces there, but in much more
reduced form."
No mention was made of East Timorese demands for a referendum
on independence among the province's 800,000 people, a proposal
previously backed by Portugal.
The sides also agreed to allow Indonesia to open up an
interest section in a "friendly embassy" in Lisbon, most likely
to be the Thai delegation.
Portugal's interests in Jakarta are represented by the embassy
of the Netherlands.
They also agreed that the all-inclusive East Timorese dialog
would be continued by October and that East Timorese themselves,
through Annan's coordination, would be included in talks.
Separately, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
welcomed the positive outcome of the talks.
In a press statement received here yesterday, Downer said
there was a clear indication that both sides were willing to be
flexible in their talks, with each agreeing to put aside points
of principle to concentrate on substantive talks about autonomy
in order to move the dialog process along.