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)