East Timorese celebrate as troops leave

East Timorese celebrate as troops leave

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of East Timorese flocked the streets
of Dili on Sunday to celebrate an annual religious ceremony hours
after the last Indonesian troops sailed out of the harbor.

Crowds lined the harbor promenade as a colorful procession led
by Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo followed behind a statue of
the Virgin Mary mounted on a jeep belonging to the International
Force for East Timor (Interfet).

The moving procession of priests in immaculate white robes,
young girls with flowers in their hair and elderly men dressed in
burgundy began at a church opposite the Indonesian Military's
deserted downtown barracks, AFP reported.

Sunday's march, called the Lady Fatima Procession, marks the
anniversary of an apparition of the Virgin Mary which appeared in
a cave in Portugal.

The ceremony was held coincidentally after the last Indonesian
soldiers in the territory left by ship from Dili's port in the
early hours of Sunday morning.

In an address delivered at twilight from the foot of the
statue, Belo gave separate and slightly differing speeches in
Tetum, the local language, and in Portuguese, English and
Indonesian.

His English speech was devoted to thanking foreign friends,
while in other languages he spoke more about reconciliation.

Speaking in Indonesian, Belo appeared to give a message of
reconciliation to Jakarta.

"We respect you and love you. We are proud because you have
entered a new democratic era," said the bishop, while also
expressing sadness over the past.

Revenge

In his address in Tetum, Belo appealed to militiamen to return
home to East Timor and beg forgiveness.

"Timor is your country, not Indonesia. Please come back here,
as East Timor is your home and needs you," Belo told a crowd of
several thousand.

"We must forgive but first you must explain to the Timorese
people why you burned homes and killed so many people," he said.

However, several hundred kilometers away in Makassar, the
capital of South Sulawesi, East Timorese prointegration leaders
warned that the departure of Indonesian troops would only signal
heightened militia activity.

Alfredo dos Santos, the secretary-general of the Forum of
Unity, Peace and Justice said on Sunday that this was just the
moment militiamen were waiting for to take revenge against
Interfet troops.

"This means that the militia can do their actions freely
without any wariness of facing the Indonesian Military (TNI),"
Santos told The Jakarta Post.

"We will use guerrilla tactics to win the region back," he
added.

Australia

In a related development, Australian Prime Minister John
Howard said on Sunday that he did not expect a United Nations
peacekeeping force for East Timor to assume control of the
territory by mid-January as some suggested.

"I think it may be later," he told Channel Nine television,
without elaborating on when the blue-helmeted force could be on
the ground.

Howard said it was important the changeover was not rushed
because that could jeopardize its success.

Howard repeated earlier government comments that Australia,
which leads the current Interfet force, would be happy to lead
the UN peacekeeping force if asked.

Australia currently has about 4,700 troops in East Timor, but
that is expected to fall to between 1,500 and 2,000 in the
peacekeeping force.

Speaking of damaged relations with Jakarta, Howard said ties
had begun to heal.

Howard said he believed difficulties between the two countries
were fading and he was confident the new President and government
would help rebuild relations.

"I respect the fact that Indonesia feels a degree of tension
and there's a degree of sensitivity, but the repair process has
begun and it is moving well," Howard said.

"You can't expect the Indonesians overnight to achieve a
complete thaw in the relationship. The important thing is, I
think, that the difficulties are not as intense now and I think
it's upside rather than downside in the future," he said.

Howard repeated that he had no immediate plans to meet with
new President Abdurrahman Wahid, but said he would initiate such
a meeting at an appropriate time.
"I wrote to him last week -- a very warm letter," he said.

Howard denied that Australia's more aggressive stance had
damaged the country's standing in Asia.

"I think I've led a government that's probably had a more
positive long-term impact in the region than any of its
predecessors," he said. (27/04)