Indonesia has nothing to do with East Timor mayhem

JAKARTA (JP): The government regretted any attempt to ruin Indonesia's image in front of the international community and denied all accusations against the country over the recent mayhem in the former province of East Timor.

The Foreign Ministry's Director General for Political Affairs Hassan Wirajuda told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the government does not consider what happens in East Timor to be Indonesia's domestic problem.

"In accordance to our forward looking principles, we consider what happens in East Timor as their own internal problem. We regret any statement trying to link what happens there with us," Hassan remarked.

"We reject any attempt to link the Indonesian Military (TNI), especially the Army Special Force (Koppasus), with the riots in East Timor," he added.

Hassan was commenting upon accusations, reported by several foreign media organizations, that suspects arrested by local authorities over recent riots in Baucau area, on the eastern side of the former province, were linked to Koppasus.

It was also reported that the recent assassination attempt of the former rebel Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao was linked to the special unit of the TNI.

Hassan said that the government consider East Timor to be a separated part of the country and that the current situation should be the problem of East Timor and not Indonesia.

"We want to see ourselves as a good neighbor of East Timor and we consider them to be separated from us. We regret any attempt to name Indonesia as a scapegoat for any incident happening there," he added.

Koppasus unit spokesman Capt. Farid Makruf echoed Hassan, saying that the unit had left the territory and was not even stationed in West Timor anymore.

"The accusation isn't true. All our actions are done by order from the TNI chief. I guarantee that none of the recent riots in East Timor were done by our troops," Farid told the Post by phone on Friday.

However, he said, there is a possibility that some deserted soldiers ignited the riot as several TNI soldiers from the Udayana Military Command, which oversaw East Timor, chose to stay in the area after the 1999 ballot.

"I see there is an attempt to discredit us. But time will answer these accusations," Farid remarked.(dja/02)