Indonesia has not received Mandela's letter: Moerdiono

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has not received a letter from South African President Nelson Mandela urging the release of a jailed East Timorese separatist, the government said yesterday.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said the President had asked him about the letter calling for the release of East Timorese activist Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao.

"Up to this second I have not seen a letter from Mandela to him," Moerdiono told journalists yesterday. "The President has never received Mandela's letter."

Moerdiono was speaking after accompanying Soeharto at a formal greeting of visiting Namibian President Sam Nujoma at Merdeka Palace.

After holding talks on East Timor with Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio in Pretoria Wednesday, Mandela said that he had recommended Xanana's release in a letter to President Soeharto.

Mandela met with Xanana, who is serving a 20-year jail term for leading an armed rebellion, at the State Guest House here on July 15.

Soeharto fully supported Mandela's request to meet with the rebel.

Mandela also assured the President that he did not intend to undermine the ongoing tripartite dialog between Indonesia and Portugal held under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan.

When asked how Soeharto would possibly respond on receiving Mandela's letter, Moerdiono replied: "I have not asked the President about this. However our position is clear that Xanana was not jailed for his political consciousness but for committing a crime."

A senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the government was surprised by Mandela's appeal. "Such an appeal, if it is true, then it is beyond our expectations," said the official who has followed the issue closely.

Last week, Mandela also met with Jose Ramos Horta, the self- exiled spokesman of the East Timor armed separatist movement, in Pretoria. Mandela has said that he was inviting Dili Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo to Pretoria.

Moerdiono confirmed that Mandela and Soeharto had regular contacts, and that Soeharto was well informed about the South African leader's initiative on East Timor.

"The President regards Mandela's activities as a part of his contribution to assist in finding a solution to East Timor's international status," the state secretary added.

Moerdiono said Wednesday that Soeharto deeply respected Mandela's statesmanship and believed that his contribution at an international settlement would be very helpful.

East Timor was integrated into Indonesia as the country's 27th province in 1976, a move which has never been recognized by the United Nations, which still regards Portugal as the administrating power.

Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas said yesterday the government views Mandela's initiatives positively.

"Mandela has his own view in settling the East Timor issue. It's not necessary for us to be suspicious or act negatively toward his initiatives," Alatas said after attending a coordinative meeting on political affairs and security.

But he asserted that the initiatives must remain in line with the formal tripartite dialog. "The tripartite dialog is the chief forum to settle the East Timor problem," he said.

Asked about Mandela's latest initiatives, Alatas said: "We'll evaluate his recommendation and give a necessary response to it."

Alatas defended Xanana's sentencing, saying the rebel leader was "lawfully imprisoned." (06/imn)