E. Timor students demand referendum

JAKARTA (JP): East Timorese students pressed for a referendum yesterday to determine the future of the former Portuguese colony.

Four students, representing East Timorese students in Java, met with members of the National Commission on Human Rights to discuss their demand.

They said many East Timorese thought a referendum was the best solution to the East Timor problem, but the Indonesian government seemed rigidly against the idea.

The students gave out a copy of a petition they had addressed to House of Representatives Speaker Wahono.

The petition called for an end to fighting between the military and pro-independence rebels, and a reconciliation of the different factions in East Timor.

The East Timor Students Movement for Peace delegates were met by commission member Clementino dos Reis Amaral, also from East Timor.

The delegates, lead by Zeto Felix da Costa, also demanded the government implement the resolutions of the All Inclusive Inter East Timor Dialog that was held in Austria last year.

East Timor integrated into Indonesia in 1976, but the UN still recognizes Portugal as its administrator.

The East Timorese students filed their petition ahead of tripartite talks on East Timor between the Indonesian and Portuguese foreign ministers this week, under the auspices of the UN secretary general in New York.

In their petition the students said East Timor's problems were chiefly political matters rather than economic or social ones. Therefore a political solution was required, they said.

They criticized both Indonesia and Portugal for being inconsistent in seeking a political solution. They described Portugal as lacking the capability to find a resolution, and Indonesia as arrogant and unrealistic in settling the problem.

Amaral said the commission would discuss the matter. (11)