Indonesia, East Timor, Australia end talks
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
Indonesia, Australia and East Timor concluded their first trilateral talks on Tuesday with a pledge to boost cooperation between the three neighboring countries after years of bloody violence and diplomatic squabbling.
The talks discussed a wide range of issues including building economic cooperation between the three countries, the repatriation of East Timorese refugees in West Timor and transnational crimes such as terrorism, people-smuggling and drug-trafficking as well as security concerns in the region.
The delegations also reviewed progress in setting up the Southwest Pacific Forum, which will group countries such as Indonesia, East Timor, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.
"Our challenge now is how to manage this triangular relationship into a positive and mutually beneficial venture for the interests of each and every one of us," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda said in a joint press conference held after the talks.
The meeting was the first of its kind since Indonesia withdrew from the former Portuguese colony after East Timorese voted almost 80 to 20 in favor of independence in a United Nations- administered vote in August 1999.
Before, during and after the vote, pro-Jakarta militias, backed by Indonesian military personnel, embarked on a massive terror campaign, which included destroying some 80 percent of the buildings, killing hundreds of people and forcing over 200,000 East Timorese to go to West Timor.
The violence ended only after intervention by an international military force led by Australia. At the time, the peacekeeping mission eroded relations between Jakarta and Canberra.
East Timor, now under U.N. administration, is due to take on full nationhood in May 2002 after 300 years of Portuguese rule and 25 years of bloody Indonesian occupation.
Australia pledged on Tuesday A$6.6 million to address the lingering problem of an estimated 60,000 East Timorese refugees in West Timor.
Australia also promised A$8.5 million (US$4.4 million), through various U.N. agencies and non-governmental organizations, for internally displaced people within Indonesia, focusing on food aid, education assistance and support for recovery activities in strife-torn Maluku.
"We do believe that the most important thing is really to work for stability and peace in East Timor as a way to contribute towards stability and peace for the region," Chief Minister of East Timor Mari Alkatiri told a press conference after the discussions.
"We are still a very weak country in terms of security and that's why we think that we need a lot of capacity-building in this area too," he said.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer hailed the meeting as "historic" and said it was time to look to the future.
"This is an historic meeting and we have discussed a number of issues to strengthen our trilateral relations," Downer said, adding that Australia would host the second trilateral meeting next year.
"Whatever the history between Indonesia, Australia and East Timor, this meeting represents a very substantial step forward in the relationship and makes a substantial commitment to regional stability and security."
Minister Hassan said the Timor gap treaty was on the agenda at a bilateral Indonesia-East Timor meeting on Monday.
"For the most part, when we talk about what was formerly known as the Timor Gap, the issues are between Indonesia and East Timor," he said.
Hassan said talks would be held sometime in the future to settle sea boundaries between the three countries, including in the Timor Gap area.
Timor Gap is believed to be rich in oil. Indonesia and Australia previously agreed to explore the area together and appointed 11 companies to do the job.
The 1989 Timor Gap treaty was renegotiated last year between Australia and East Timor. The deal now provides East Timor with 90 percent of the revenue from the Timor Sea's oil and gas developments.