E. Timor's cultural identity

E. Timor's cultural identity

The seventh round of the tripartite dialog (between Indonesia,
Portugal and the United Nations) on East Timor was just
concluded. The last of the meetings, which have been held since
1983, took place in London on Tuesday.

As in earlier meetings, Foreign Minister Ali Alatas
represented Indonesia while Portugal was represented by Jaime
Gama, the new foreign minister who replaced Jose Manuel Durao
Barosso. Present as mediator was UN Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali.

Gama at one point during the talks said the latest meeting had
not reached any "immediate settlement" regarding the existing
differences on East Timor. However, he said, many topics were
discussed, ranging from human rights to the cultural identity of
the East Timorese people.

It was evident during the dialog that culture is a strategic
aspect of the discussions. We, too, are fully aware of the fact
that apart from the political aspect -- which has so far been
dominated by international concern with East Timor -- cultural
concerns cannot be separated from the efforts to settle the
problems of the youngest Indonesian province once and for all.

-- Republika, Jakarta