E. Timor legislators asked to quit

E. Timor legislators asked to quit

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Four legislators representing East Timor have been asked to quit
the House of Representatives (DPR) as the fledgling country is no
longer part of Indonesia.

Endin A.J. Soefihara, secretary of the United Development
Party (PPP) faction, urged the legislators to withdraw from the
House, while A.M. Luthfi of the Reform faction called for a
review of their membership in the House.

The four legislators, elected to represent East Timor in 1999,
are: Setya Novanto and Natercia Do Menino Jesus Osorio Soares of
the Golkar Party, and Rekso Ageng Herman and Ronny B.S. Hutagaol
of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).
Only Soares is a native East Timorese.

East Timor voted for independence in a United Nations-
organized referendum in 1999, and in May 2002 will become the
first country to achieve independence in the 21st century.

Calls are mounting for the four legislators to resign from the
House as they have no more constituents.

However, Golkar and PDI Perjuangan are unlikely to let the
four quit as it would directly affect their bargaining position
in the House.

"Legally, their membership in the DPR ceased when the East
Timorese voted to break way from Indonesia. Being a legislator,
one must have constituents," Endin told The Jakarta Post on
Friday night.

"Whom do they represent? Their constituents and territory do
not exist anymore," said Endin, adding that their seats should be
given to new provinces.

Luthfi said the status of those legislators should be reviewed
after East Timor obtains independence in May, 2002.

"We must talk about their status after that date," Luthfi
said.

But, according to Golkar faction chairman Marzuki Achmad, the
four legislators would keep their posts until the next general
election in 2004.

"Those legislators will remain in their position until 2004.
We have no plan to change their status," he told the Post

He said the four legislators would keep busy looking after the
interests of the 128,000 East Timorese refugees in West Timor.
The refugees have run out of food after Indonesia stopped aid
early last January.

"Although the territory will secede from Indonesia, several
problems including refugees and students need to be taken into
account. Therefore, political representation is still needed,"
Marzuki said.

He said both Natercia and Setya Novanto often welcomed
delegations of East Timorese refugees discussing the future of
those refugees. "I think the process will last long," he added.

Vice-chairman of PDI Perjuangan faction Panda Nababan,
meanwhile, said his faction would leave the issue to the General
Election Commission (KPU).

"KPU will decide on the issue. We wait for that institution to
make a decision," Panda said.

Meanwhile, KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah urged House leaders
to send a letter to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, asking her
to decide on the issue.

"This matter should be decided by the President because the
legislators were sworn in by the President," Mulyana told the
Post.

He, however, advised the four legislators to resign
voluntarily as they had no more constituents.

Earlier, one of the legislators, Rekso Ageng Herman, said he
would not resign so that he could keep helping East Timorese
refugees to have a better future.

"They (East Timorese refugees) are still my constituents. They
are still Indonesian citizens. The problem was only their
status," Rekso said.

He revealed that currently the government had offered the East
Timorese refugees new settlement in the nearby Wetar island, but
they had not made up their mind.