Gus Dur to order the release of 18 Timorese prisoners

Gus Dur to order the release of 18 Timorese prisoners

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Tuesday that
he would order next week the release of 18 East Timorese
political prisoners still in Indonesian jails.

He made the pledge at a meeting with East Timor independence
leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, who received a red carpet
welcome befitting a head of state, at Merdeka Palace.

Gus Dur, as the President is popularly called, said he would
sign their release after his return from a four-day visit to
China beginning on Wednesday.

The two leaders got off to a good start as the promise came
hours after Xanana appealed, during a media briefing, for the
release of East Timorese freedom fighters who, like himself, were
jailed for fighting against Indonesian rule.

The man who is widely tipped to be East Timor's first
president earlier returned to the Cipinang penitentiary, as a
free man, to meet with his former fellow inmates. Xanana served
time in Cipinang for leading an armed rebellion against Jakarta
and was released in September after the East Timor self-
determination ballot.

During a joint media conference, Gus Dur and Xanana said they
had agreed to put the past behind them and to concentrate on
building mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.

"We are committed to doing our best to create a cooperative,
friendly and good relationship between the two countries," Xanana
said, adding that he had also asked for assistance in
repatriating 130,000 East Timorese refugees currently in camps in
East Nusa Tenggara.

The two leaders held a private meeting before aides joined
them. The President was accompanied by Minister of Foreign
Affairs Alwi Shihab, Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance
and Industry Kwik Kian Gie and outgoing Army chief of staff Gen.
Subagyo H.S. Xanana was flanked by Ramos Horta, Marie Alkatiri
and his deputy military commander Taur Matan Ruak.

Xanana also met with Gen. Wiranto, the coordinating minister
for political affairs and security and until last month the
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander. Neither men talked to the
press after their meeting.

Earlier, during a media conference at the Regent Hotel, Xanana
said he had come back to forge close ties with a new Indonesia
which valued democracy, human rights, justice and truth.

"Our presence here is to prove that the people of Timor
Lorosae are ready, with the people of Indonesia, to create a new
climate, a new future where they will have friendly and
cooperative relations, with mutual respect and help.

"That's why we're here. We're not here to ask for retribution
or for compensation. We're here to tell the Indonesian people
that the two peoples can coexist, work hand in hand toward a
brighter future," he said.

He described everything that happened in East Timor during
Indonesia's 24-year occupation as a "historical mistake".

While offering an olive branch, Xanana underlined the need for
TNI to denounce any links with pro-Indonesia militias, whom he
said could cause instability from their bases in East Nusa
Tenggara.

He warned that failure to control the militias would put a
heavy burden on the Indonesian government and would harm
Indonesia's international reputation.

"We have a message for the (Indonesian) generals. We did not
destroy Indonesia's image. The East Timorese people have suffered
a lot. Now, they are facing hunger and disease, they have no
homes and their belongings have been looted or burned.

"We ask TNI, especially the Kopassus generals to stop giving
support because it could become a source of embarrassment for the
Indonesian people," he said. Kopassus is the Army's elite Special
Force, blamed for much of the human rights abuses in East Timor
and elsewhere in Indonesia.

When asked whether he was prepared to call off an ongoing UN
inquiry into possible war crimes by TNI, Xanana said he did not
have such an authority.

While welcoming Indonesians to come to East Timor and assist
in the development of the country, he said ownership of many of
the Indonesian assets would be settled through negotiations
involving the United Nations.

"After all that has happened, after all the suffering that the
East Timorese have endured, it would appear strange that
Indonesia should want to calculate and repossess those assets.

"But that's my personal view," he said.

Xanana said he would propose the establishment of an East
Timor representative office in Jakarta.

It would not have to be called an office of the CNRT," he said
of his Revolutionary Council for an Independent East Timor.

The Indonesian Military said a CNRT office would not be
acceptable since the group did not represent all the East
Timorese people. President Abdurrahman however has overruled the
objection and said that the decision was his to make.

Xanana explained about reconciliatory measures being taken to
try to bring all East Timorese together to rebuild their country.

He had met with senior pro-Indonesia East Timorese politicians
to discuss the plan to establish a national council "involving
representatives of CNRT, 'them' and the church."

The United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor
(UNTAET) has agreed that no decision would be made without the
consent of the council, he added. (emb/emf/prb)