East Timorese and pro-RI militia hold secret talks

East Timorese and pro-RI militia hold secret talks

SINGAPORE (AP): Groups who fought for East Timor's
independence from Indonesia met secretly in Singapore on Sunday
with representatives from pro-Jakarta militias to talk about
reconciliation.

Kjell Ake Nordquist, head of the department of peace and
conflict research at Sweden's Uppsala University, presided over
the talks.

Nordquist confirmed the arrival of representatives from the
pro-Jakarta Aitarak militia, saying they would meet on Sunday
with Falintil pro-independence guerrillas and the National
Council for East Timor Resistance.

He declined to give any further details, and all other
requests for information Sunday were denied by conference
organizers.

Aitarak members believed to be attending the talks include
leaders Eurico Gutteres and Joao Tavares.

East Timor, formerly an Indonesian province, was plunged into
violence last year when pro-Jakarta militias, backed by the
Indonesian military, went on a rampage after the territory voted
for independence in a UN sponsored ballot.

Gutteres and six other militia commanders were named by an
Indonesian government-appointed human rights investigation as
being partly responsible for the destruction and bloodshed.

The talks were expected to focus on repatriation of some
10,000 East Timorese refugees who fled the violence and are still
living in West Timor, as well as reconciliation between the pro-
and anti-independence forces.

The return of pro-Indonesian militia members to East Timor was
also on the agenda.

The Indonesian government has given the refugees until March
31 to decide whether to remain in Indonesia or return to East
Timor, now administered by the United Nations.