Habibie seeks E. Timor peace

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie endorsed the establishment of an independent rights commission to disarm warring factions in East Timor and restore peace so an international presence would not be needed there, it was reported on Tuesday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas revealed the development on Tuesday, saying the new commission was expected to be able to persuade warring factions to lay down their arms, particularly before and during a United Nations-sponsored direct ballot in July which will allow the people of East Timor to choose between independence or the government's wide-ranging autonomy proposal.

Jailed rebel leader Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao has agreed to be part of the Independent Commission on Human Rights in Timor Lorosae, as has rights activist Bambang W. Soeharto, but there were no other details available about the number of members on the rights commission or who would chair the commission.

Alatas said Habibie called for a cease-fire among warring factions in the province and ordered his Cabinet ministers to help provide the International Committee of the Red Cross access to work in the province.

"The President regards this idea (the commission) as very relevant... especially asking them (the warring factions) to lay down their guns and stop their armed conflicts," Alatas said after accompanying the President to a meeting with the National Commission on Human Rights.

The chairman of the rights commission, Marzuki Darusman, said the new rights commission in East Timor would not involve East Timorese living in exile. "This team is only for East Timorese people living here."

Marzuki indicated it was possible that Xanana could visit Dili despite his status as a convict if his presence could help secure peace in the troubled province.

Marzuki hoped the commission would be able to bring peace so the presence of an international peacekeeping military operation would not be needed in the province.

Meanwhile, in the East Timor capital of Dili, deputy police chief Col. Muafi Sahudji said on late Monday a group of men attacked a state prison in Baucau regency, some 115 kilometers east of Dili, injuring three members of the National Police's Mobile Brigade unit on duty there.

The assailants, suspected to be members of Falintil, the armed wing of the East Timorese proindependence movement, fired shots and threw grenades and Molotov cocktails in the attack, Muafi said.

Treatment

He said the victims would be sent to the military hospital in Dili for treatment.

In a separate incident, Antara reported an Army private was injured after a number of proindependence guerrillas attacked a military post in Viqueque regency, some 197 kilometers southeast of Dili, on early Tuesday.

The spokesman for the East Timor Military Command, Capt. Agus Nurkasa, was quoted by the news agency as saying that Private Kasnu had been taken to the Wira Husada Hospital in Dili.

Agus said security forces were still searching for the guerrillas.

Tension has been escalating in East Timor since Jakarta announced in January it would consider independence for the former Portuguese colony if its autonomy proposal was rejected.

Fear of escalating violence since the January announcement has sparked an exodus of migrants from the province, although the precise number is unknown.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet Tallo was quoted by Antara as saying on Tuesday that about 26,000 people had fled from East Timor to his province since the January announcement.

"Currently, the number of people who have fled from East Timor across to East Nusa Tenggara has reached about 26,000, scattered in several regencies," Piet was quoted as saying.

Tallo said 6,000 refugees were in Alor regency. He identified other main refugee sites as the border regencies of Atambua and Belo.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday urged restraint in East Timor, adding he had personally called and asked Habibie to control the volatile situation in the territory.

"I have myself appealed for restraint and I spoke to President Habibie over the weekend ... encouraging the government to take all necessary steps to contain the situation," Annan said during a visit to Madrid.

He said the UN was not in a position to play a role on the ground in East Timor.

"What we have are persuasive powers and contacts with the government in asking them to exercise their role of being responsible for peace and security in the territory and I hope this will happen," Annan said.

"We also have appealed for restraint on all sides -- the proindependence elements and the prointegration elements."

On April 21, Indonesia is expected to resume talks with Portugal under the auspices of the UN.

Antara also reported Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto met on Tuesday with the chief of the Udayana Regional Military Command overseeing East Timor, Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, East Timor Military Commander Col. Tono Suratman and head of the ABRI Intelligence Agency Maj. Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, to discuss the situation in the territory. (33/byg/prb)