General appeals to East Timor administrators to unite

DILI, East Timor (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) is urging politicians and the entire administration in East Timor to unite and throw their support behind Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares.

ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Affairs Lt. Gen. H.B.L. Mantiri in an address to members of Muspida, a regional body encompassing leaders of the military, churches and the local legislature, said on Monday that "everyone, without exception, should have the same commitment to bringing about progress in East Timor"

He said that criticism of others, including the governor, should stop, and that introspection should take its place. "Everyone is bound to have his shortcomings. Nobody's perfect.

"I suggest that we all give our support to him, and unite behind him so that he can carry out his tasks properly," he said. "Don't isolate him or let him move forward by himself," he added.

The governor himself was absent from the meeting, as he is in a Jakarta hospital for leg fractures sustained in a car accident in Dili last Saturday.

East Timor is a former Portuguese colony that became part of Indonesia in 1976. Freed from colonial bonds, the territory has undergone rapid changes in the last 18 years with huge injections of funds from Jakarta.

Every children of school age now attend schools and many of them have gone on to study at universities, something which was almost impossible during the Portuguese days. Per capita income has more than quadrupled and East Timorese also have access to health care. Yet, the territory remains among the most backward of Indonesia's 27 provinces.

Mantiri, who is no stranger to the territory, as he led the East Timor military command between 1986 and 1988, acknowledged that there are bound to be difficulties in administering East Timor, but stressed that "they could be overcome if everybody worked together."

He emphasized that administrators should deal with these problems "with cool heads."

"Nobody says that it will be easy to develop East Timor because there are so many aspects that we have to consider. That's why I ask for perseverance from you and the people in East Timor."

Mantiri said that people should always look at the positive side instead of simply focusing on the negative sides in administering East Timor. "We all want East Timor to progress. This can only be achieved through hard work," he said. (yac/emb)