EU extends embargo against RI

EU extends embargo against RI

STRASBOURG (Agencies): The European Parliament voted on Thursday to prolong the EU arms embargo against Indonesia and its suspension of bilateral military cooperation.

A statement from parliament said that to have done otherwise would have sent a signal to the Indonesian army that they had been rehabilitated and would have legitimized the repression they continued to exercise.

The European Union declared the embargo on Sept. 16 after reports of widespread violence in East Timor that followed the Aug. 30 United Nations sponsored ballot.

The EU embargo had been due to expire on Jan. 17, 2000.

The Parliament also called on the new Indonesian government to seek a peaceful solution to the separatist movement in Aceh province.

The European Parliament has taken up the stance of being very pro-East Timorese, continuously siding with pro-independence movement in the former Indonesian province.

On Wednesday it awarded its 1999 Sakharov human rights prize to East Timorese independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana".

Parliament President Nicole Fontaine lauded the former guerrilla fighter as a "spokesman for peace, justice and freedom".

Previous winners of the Sakharov Prize named after Russian dissident and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Andrei Sakharov (1921- 1989) include former South African president Nelson Mandela, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng.