EU ambassadors end four-day Dili trip

EU ambassadors end four-day Dili trip

JAKARTA (JP): Three European Union ambassadors left Dili, East
Timor, yesterday at the end a four-day visit which saw tensions
rise between pro- and anti-integration supporters in the troubled
province.

They ended their visit with a meeting on Monday night with
Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.

Belo said yesterday the three ambassadors expressed their
support for a resolution of the East Timor issue to be settled
through the ongoing talks sponsored by the United Nations.

However Belo said Monday evening's talks really did not
introduce anything new to him.

"I've talked about the same subjects. Yes, they gave so many
opinions but for me, there's nothing new," he said.

Belo said the EU envoys expressed their hope that dialogs
between East Timorese figures and informal leaders could be held
to create a more conducive climate to finding a permanent
solution to the problems in province.

"I have already repeatedly campaigned for that but it seemed
to have vanished by itself as if I were in the middle of the
desert," Belo was quoted by Antara as saying.

The three Jakarta-based ambassadors -- Britain's Robin
Christopher, Austria's Viktor Segalla and the Netherlands' Paul
Brouwer -- arrived in Dili Saturday.

Their arrival coincided with an increased wave of
demonstrations in the province which resulted in clashes between
pro- and anti-integrationists.

One person was killed on Saturday while another was shot by
military officers on Monday. A mob apparently attacked the van
carrying the military officers which was escorting the
ambassadors to Baucau.

The visit by the ambassadors is unique since EU countries do
not send their top envoys to the province whose integration as
part of Indonesia they do not recognize.

In a related development, East Timor separatist leader Jose
Ramos Horta said in New York Monday that any referendum on the
Indonesian-occupied territory should not occur for another three
to five years.

The Associated Press quoted Horta as saying he that was trying
to show some flexibility in considering the "political,
psychological earthquake" in Indonesia that culminated with
deadly riots and the ouster of president Soeharto.

However Horta said East Timor activists would not relinquish
their position that East Timor should be independent.

Horta suggested the two sides negotiate more immediate issues
-- the release of more political prisoners and the reduction of
troops in East Timor -- before launching into a debate over the
future of the territory.

"There is a solid consensus between us, Portugal, the European
Union and the U.S. position today that the only way to resolve
the problem is to move step by step along these lines," he said.

Horta said that after a transitional period of about five
years, "the East Timorese might want to stay with Indonesia, or
the Indonesians might want to accept Timorese independence."
(emf)