East Timor direct ballot will be Aug. 30, says Alatas
East Timor direct ballot will be Aug. 30, says Alatas
SINGAPORE (JP): The United Nations has announced that the
direct ballot in East Timor will be held on Aug. 30.
Foreign minister Ali Alatas confirmed on Wednesday the new
date, saying Indonesia could accept the new date set by UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
"Well, I think it's possible, given the assumption that one of
the reasons given was the delay in the registration of voters,"
said Alatas, who is on the island-state to attend a series of
meetings between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and their dialog partners.
"By that reason (given to us) we, of course, assume that the
registration process will now be extended," he remarked.
The vote on whether East Timor would remain part of Indonesia
or be a separate state was initially scheduled for Aug. 8, but
was canceled following a spat of violence and attacks on
personnel of the UN Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET).
Portuguese foreign minister Jaime Gama also welcomed the
announcement of the new date for the ballot, saying it was
completely at the prerogative of the UN secretary-general.
Noting that progress has been made in various areas toward
preparations, Gama still stressed the need for the Indonesian
government to improve further the security situation in East
Timor.
Alatas also revealed that Indonesia was in the process of
filing a demarche (a diplomatic motion) over the way UNAMET was
disseminating information on the choices the East Timorese would
have in the direct ballot.
"We are not too happy with UNAMET's way of explaining it," he
said, specifically pointing to a television program made to
illustrate the two available alternatives.
The program portrays two siblings discussing the difference
between continued integration with Indonesia with wide-ranging
autonomy and being independent.
According to Alatas, in the program autonomy is put into the
analogy of having "your own room in a house called Indonesia" but
if you refuse autonomy "you will have your own house".
"The intention may be good, but don't use such an analogy. If
you put it that way, who would want to have a mere room if you
can have your own house?" Alatas explained.
Meanwhile, Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer
arrived here on Wednesday for a 24-hour visit before flying to
East Timor on Thursday on an unprecedented visit to the troubled
territory.
Speaking soon after his arrival at the Australian ambassador's
residence here, Downer was quoted by AFP as saying during his
Jakarta stopover he would deliver several "messages" from
Australia, not only to President B.J. Habibie, but to the
country's opposition leaders.
He will become the first Australian foreign minister to visit
East Timor.
Meanwhile, Minister of Defense and Security/Indonesian
Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Wiranto insisted in Jakarta that
security situation was good enough for the direct ballot.
He said police and military personnel have worked hard to
ensure peace and stability in the province.
The general, however, strongly criticized the United Nations
Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) for taking side with
proindependence groups and for inconsistency in implementing its
own regulations.
He also criticized several Catholic church leaders who tend to
serve only proindependence people. He alleged the leaders asked
prointegration supporters to pay more than their rivals in order
to get baptism certificates needed to register for the vote.
(mds/prb)