Government says more time needed for East Timor disarmament
JAKARTA (JP): The government suggested on Monday a two-week extension in the disarmament period for hostile factions in East Timor ahead of the August ballot.
Minister of Defense and Security/Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Wiranto said the disarmament period, which expired on Monday, should be extended because proindependence militias grouped in Conselho National de Resistancia Timorese (CNRT) and Falintil had yet to surrender all their weaponry to the police, who were in charge of security until the ballot.
"A disarmament of the warring factions is very important to create a peaceful situation prior to the ballot," he said after receiving proindependence figures Jose Ramos-Horta, Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, Joao Carrascalao and Mar'ie Al Katiri at the TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta on Monday.
The four previously met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas.
Wiranto said the proindependence groups submitted only 17 units of handmade guns so far. By contrast, members of prointegration groups had met the government demand, Wiranto said.
Ramos-Horta and Xanana said after the meeting that it was difficult for their factions to disarm themselves if the prointegration camp did not stop their terrors and assaults.
During the meeting, Ramos-Horta asked Wiranto to allow Xanana to go to East Timor in order to speed up the disarmament process. But Wiranto rejected the request, saying it was enough for Xanana to observe the disarmament process from Jakarta.
When asked about the latest violence in Liquica on Sunday, Ramos-Horta and Xanana expressed their regret and called on the Commission for Peace and Stability (KPS) to cope with the case completely.
A United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) convoy, which included activists of local nongovernmental organizations, was attacked by alleged prointegration supporters. The mission was on its way back from a relief operation in Maliana, Liquica.
UNAMET police advisers and their helicopter were also attacked while they were evacuating all UNAMET staff from the small town. At least three people were seriously injured and six others went missing following the assault.
The government also deplored the violent acts on Monday, and said it was determined to bring those responsible to justice.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a copy of which was available to The Jakarta Post, the government suspected the attack was related to the incident on Saturday in which a proindependence group shot a prointegration civilian to death and injured two others.
East Timor Military district chief Col. Tono Suratman visited two victims of the Liquica attack who were hospitalized in Dili due to serious injuries.
Tono called on the warring factions to stop exchanging attacks and to comply with the peaceful agreement they had signed twice.
Domingos Soares, chairman of the prointegration Forum for Unity and Justice (FPDK) blamed the assault on UNAMET's discriminative treatment.
"Humanitarian aid provided by UNAMET for the proindependence refugees is evidence that the UN mission in East Timor is discriminative," Soares said.
UNAMET Chairman Ian Martin denied the accusation, saying that the UN mission had its own authority to assess the refugees condition.
He said the attack was an inexcusable lack of action by Indonesian Police. Martin is scheduled to meet Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas on Tuesday.
Wiranto said the case should be entrusted to the peace and stability commission to handle.
"If violations to the law are found in the incident, the case will be handed to the police," he said.
The minister reiterated that the police and military in East Timor would maintain their same distance from conflicting factions. "I guarantee that security personnel, especially the police, will remain neutral in maintaining security until the ballot," he said.
Jamsheed Marker, the UN Secretary-General's special envoy, joined the chorus of regrets but said that the incident would not lead the UN to postpone the ballot again.
"Despite the attack, UNAMET will go ahead with the ballot in accordance with the schedule. Of course, it is impossible to hold the ballot today for security reasons," Marker said before meeting Australian defense minister John Moore in Sydney.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently postponed the ballot schedule from Aug. 8 to Aug. 22.
Reuters reported Australia urged the UN on Monday not to give in to "hoodlums" but to press on with an East Timor autonomy ballot, and said Indonesia must do more to ensure security in the territory.
Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer was due to meet Jamsheed Marker later to discuss Sunday's attack.
Downer told reporters: "It is important to transmit this message that we won't be intimidated by hoodlums and thugs with a lot of rocks and homemade weapons.
"That is just giving in to them, and it is important to show strength of purpose and resolve in dealing with this problem." (rms)