Indonesia has not received Mandela's letter: Moerdiono
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)