East Timor's rival factions begin talks

East Timor's rival factions begin talks

JAKARTA (JP): Rival factions in East Timor began peace talks
here on Monday aimed at ending violence in the troubled territory
ahead of the August ballot.

Nobel laureate Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, opening
the second phase of the church-organized "Dare II Peace and
Reconciliation Dialog", said it was the church's obligation to
free the East Timorese from decades of conflict.

"It is the task of the church to release its children from the
grip of the ceaseless conflict that now enslaves them," Belo
said, referring to 23 years of violence since the province was
annexed by Jakarta in 1975.

Belo urged all delegates "to work together toward a solution
that will unite the people of East Timor and bring about
prosperity.

"Please avoid issues of personal or group interests that could
lead us to conflict of interests".

Belo was one of seven speakers launching the three-day talks
at the Sheraton Bandara Hotel, which is located near Soekarno-
Hatta International Airport.

The other speakers -- conversing in English, Indonesian, the
East Timorese dialect Tetun and Portuguese -- were papal nuncio
Enzo Fratino, UN representative Tamrat Samuel, the Indonesian
government's Thomas Aquino Samudra, Lisbon envoy Ana Gomes and
representatives of both proindependence and pro-Jakarta factions.

Speaking in Portuguese, jailed separatist leader Jose
Alexandre Xanana Gusmao acknowledged the first actions would be
difficult, but said it was the responsibility of the delegates to
forge reconciliation in East Timor.

"The most difficult step has been taken -- that of the
acceptance of the need for dialog as the means of reaching a
better understanding of one another's ideas, of putting an end to
apprehension and of rejecting violence," Xanana said.

He also called on all East Timorese "to break down, once and
for all, the barriers constructed between us.

"If we inherited from our ancestors the spirit of rebellion,
today the Timorese people wish to hand down something new to
future generations -- real and lasting peace".

Pro-Jakarta delegate Lopez da Cruz, using the traditional name
for the province, said "all our brothers and sisters in Timor
Lorosae are anxious that we reach understanding and that we are
capable of standing united for peace".

Pitfalls

"This is a historic moment, full of opportunities, but like
all decisive historic moments, fraught with dangers and
pitfalls," Samuel said.

He believed the ultimate challenge for the delegates would be
how to make "the outcome of the consultation an acceptable
foundation for a durable and peaceful system of coexistence for
the opposing forces".

He described it as "a system in which every East Timorese will
have a stake and which every East Timorese will have a reason to
defend".

"(The meeting) is exactly to dissipate such fears and make it
understood that there will be a place for everybody in East
timor, after the consultation, whatever will be the result of the
consultation," Gomes said.

The East Timorese will vote in August on whether to accept
autonomy under Indonesia or proceed with independence.

The conference's 60 delegates -- 30 from each side -- include
Belo's fellow Nobel laureate Jose Ramos Horta, the
proindependence supporter who arrived in the country on Saturday
after 23 years in self-imposed exile.

Outside the hotel, about 30 pro-Jakarta campaigners protested
Ramos Horta's presence and called him a provocateur. One held up
a placard showing a dollar sign and stating he was wanted "dead
or alive".

The first session, held in the same hotel on Friday and
Saturday, was restricted to representatives from East Timor. The
talks are closed to the media.

Xanana, who is serving a 20-year sentence for armed rebellion,
was given permission by the government to leave his special
detention house in Central Jakarta for the talks.

The East Timorese are to take part in a UN-conducted vote in
August following the government's statement in January that it
would release the province if the people rejected the government-
sponsored autonomy proposal.

Escalating violence between opposing groups in East Timor has
led to dozens of fatalities.

Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan ordered a two-
week delay in the ballot from the original Aug. 8 date, citing
security and logistical concerns.

Also on Monday, Dino Patti Djalal, spokesman for the Dili-
based Task Force for the Implementation of the Popular
Consultation in East Timor, said in a statement that the
deployment of personnel and equipment for the United Nations
Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) were proceeding well.

"Until June 22, there had been over 45 UNAMET flights to and
from Dili and over 17 flights to and from Baucau, including those
with fixed-wing aircraft, carrying personnel and equipment," Dino
said.

The task force also welcomed the signing of the agreement on
June 24 between state-owned TVRI television network and UNAMET on
the use of the former's facilities to provide information on the
special autonomy proposal to the East Timorese.

In Jakarta, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for East
Timor, Jamsheed Marker, met National Police chief Gen.
Roesmanhadi to discuss his visit to the province last week.

Antara quoted police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar Sianipar as
saying that Marker expressed satisfaction with ongoing
preparations. The police are responsible for security in East
Timor ahead of the direct ballot. (byg/33)