Gusmao ends two-day state visit to Jakarta
Gusmao ends two-day state visit to Jakarta
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Bernie K. Moestafa , The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta
Visiting East Timor President Xanana Gusmao wrapped up his two-
day state visit to Indonesia by paying tribute at the Kalibata
National Heroes cemetery in East Jakarta on Wednesday.
Gusmao was accompanied by Indonesian State Minister for
Acceleration of Eastern Indonesia Development Manuel Kaisiepo
during a wreath-laying ceremony.
Later in the day, the president flew back to Bali and would
spend the night on the island with his family before heading back
to Dili on Thursday.
Unlike previously stated, Gusmao would not be the key-note
speaker at an economic seminar at Makassar in South Sulawesi on
Thursday.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesman Marty Natalegawa
said on Wednesday that the government had explored the
possibility for Xanana to attend the event, but the latest
decision was that the visiting president would not attend the
seminar.
"It is not like he cut short the trip because the latest
schedule that we arranged did not include the visit to Makassar,"
Marty told The Jakarta Post.
Gusmao, who spent seven years in an Indonesian jail, and his
27-member entourage, arrived on Monday and met President Megawati
Soekarnoputri on Tuesday.
Indonesia was his second state visit as president of the new
country that declared independence on May 20 this year, after
separating from Indonesia in 1999. His first official overseas
trip was to Australia in late May.
Meanwhile, veterans of the 1975 invasion of East Timor
expressed their disappointment with Gusmao's visit.
Sgt. Maj. (ret) Soekoro, who chairs a veterans' association in
Jakarta, said Indonesia should have waited before establishing
diplomatic ties with East Timor.
"East Timor's independence is a fact we can't avoid, but we
should have taken more time before accepting it," he said.
He said the East Timor government must first ensure that
prointegration East Timorese were being treated fairly, and that
they could return without fear of harassment.
Around 20,000 East Timorese still live in refugee camps in the
neighboring East Nusa Tenggara province, three years after East
Timor broke away from Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian government, Soekoro said, should pay
compensation to the veterans. "Most of us are disabled, we can't
work so we need help. Nothing fancy just something to get us by.
"We're soldiers, we know the risk and we accept it, but we
want to know how the government views us, are we war heroes or
war criminals?" he asked.
Some 3,000 Indonesian soldiers died in the 1975 military
campaign, many others were left disabled.