Indonesia, East Timor sign border accord

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia and East Timor signed a border agreement on the sidelines of the 37th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) on Wednesday.

Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda, said that the countries had resolved 90 percent of their land boundary issues, and the remaining problems would be finalized by September.

Next on the agenda is to start talks on the marine borders.

East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta, who is a guest at the AMM and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), expressed his hope that the final agreement could be reached soon.

"Almost in record time, we've been able to reach an almost complete agreement on the land boundaries," Ramos Horta was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

"Hopefully, we will be able to sign the final comprehensive plan in the next few months."

The East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia in a 1999 UN-sponsored ballot, sparking a deadly rampage by pro- Indonesian militias allegedly armed and organized by Indonesia's military.

Hassan said that border negotiations were difficult because of the geographical situation and local customs.

"The problems we are facing are not political but geographical," he was quoted by AP as saying. He added that during the Dutch and Portuguese eras, some of the land borders were based on rivers, and on Timor island the river courses could change quite a lot and some had dried up altogether.

He said that the economic, social and security activities on the border areas would be arranged further.

"That is part of a 'border regime', meaning the activities along the border, be they the human traffic, trade or security. These will be outlined in a separate arrangement," he said.