East Timor slips off UN agenda again

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's permanent ambassador to the United Nations, Nugroho Wisnumurti, has expressed confidence that the tripartite talks on East Timor will eventually lead to the topic being removed from the UN agenda.

"When the tripartite talks have achieved their purpose, the item on East Timor on the UN General Assembly's agenda will be removed," he said as quoted by Antara in New York.

Nugroho was speaking on Friday night after the UN postponed placing East Timor on the General Assembly's agenda for the 14th consecutive year.

While the UN does not formally recognize the integration of the former Portuguese colony as Indonesia's 27th province, it has suspended debate on it since 1983.

At the time the UN secretary-general launched an initiative to hold talks with foreign ministers from Indonesia and Portugal.

While the talks have produced little in the way of an internationally acceptable solution to the East Timor issue, it has allowed Jakarta and Lisbon to engage in various confidence building measures.

Since then the UN secretary-general has overseen eight meetings. The ninth meeting is scheduled to be held in New York in December.

Nugroho said that once the tripartite talks arrive at a comprehensive solution, the East Timor question can be deleted, and not just postponed, from the UN agenda.

"It is through the tripartite talks that we hope the matter can be resolved," he said.

Friday's postponement of item number 93 on East Timor was forwarded by Dutch Ambassador Aryan P. Hamburger during a committee meeting to discuss the 51st UN General Assembly's agenda.

Hamburger maintained that the item should be delayed given the recent progress of the tripartite talks and to allow the Indonesian and Portuguese foreign ministers, under the aegis of the UN secretary-general, to conduct further talks.

The motion was seconded by the Philippines' ambassador to the UN, Filipe H. Mabilangan. It did not meet any resistance from the floor.

Nugroho agreed with the Dutch ambassador's reasoning, saying that time should be given to settle the matter through the tripartite talks.

He added that he and his Portuguese counterpart at the UN would soon conduct preparatory meetings for their foreign ministers meeting in December. (mds)