Indonesia, East Timor begin bilateral talks
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Representatives from Indonesia and East Timor will begin high- level talks in Bali on Monday to discuss the administrative transition over many leftover problems ahead of the official declaration of East Timor's full independence on May 20, 2002.
The one-day meeting is expected to mark the end of a bitter separation process which culminated in September 1999 when almost 80 percent of East Timor's population chose to be independent during a popular consultation organized by the United Nations.
East Timor, which is currently under the auspices of the United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET), is scheduled to have its first presidential election in April 2002, after last year's general election chose the representatives for its new legislative body.
Indonesia proposed the bilateral meeting with the aim of minimizing possible residual problems that could occur after the transition from UNTAET to the new government.
The Indonesian government continues to limit the discussion between the two delegations only to administrative issues such as pension funds, archives, postal services and Indonesia's assets in East Timor.
The ministry of foreign affairs' Director of International Organization Marty Natalegawa said recently the delegations would not discuss the ongoing process of human rights trials.
"On the border issue, we will only discuss the establishment of the mechanism to determine the border," Marty said.
About the possible entrance of East Timor into the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia continues to postpone the issue on grounds that the new country is not fully independent yet.
"Besides it should be a collective decision by ASEAN members, we are going to comply with them. And the East Timor state is not yet an official entity," Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
However, Marty said Indonesia chose to take the lead in the bilateral talks and initiate the meeting because it was important to ensure a smooth transition from UNTAET to the East Timor government to prevent more irritants in the future.
During the bilateral meeting Indonesia and East Timor are also scheduled to sign an agreement on the postal service.
On Tuesday, there will be a tripartite meeting between Indonesia, East Timor and Australia. No certain agenda is set for the meeting, but so far it will likely be dominated by the talks on the maritime border in the oil-rich Timor Gap area and the ongoing trial process of human rights abuse cases.