Indonesia 'invites' UN forces

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie buckled under strong international pressure on Sunday night, announcing that he would allow United Nations peacekeeping forces into East Timor.

Habibie said he called UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan "to inform him about our readiness to accept international peacekeeping forces from friendly nations to restore peace and security in East Timor".

Speaking in Indonesian in announcing his decision to the public, he chose his words differently, saying the government had decided "to invite" international forces to East Timor.

In the Indonesian version of his announcement, Habibie made it clear that the UN peacekeeping force would work in cooperation with the Indonesian Military (TNI), a point which was not clearly spelled out in the English version.

There was no explanation from the presidential palace about the discrepancy between the two versions, which were broadcast live by TVRI and CNN.

Habibie earlier apologized for the delay in the announcement, blaming it on "technical problems" in crafting the English translation of the text.

Habibie did not take questions after the announcement at the presidential palace, which followed a four-hour meeting with Gen. Wiranto, the defense and security minister/chief of the Indonesian Military, and other top generals and senior members of the Cabinet.

After the meeting, Habibie met briefly with the five-person delegation from the United Nations Security Council which visited East Timor on Saturday and was due to report back to New York on Monday.

The government had previously been staunchly opposed to the presence of an international peacekeeping force in East Timor, which it insisted would remain under Indonesia's sovereignty until the People's Consultative Assembly revoked its 1978 decree which officially integrated East Timor into Indonesia.

The result of the Aug. 30 ballot in East Timor, in which nearly 80 percent of the 440,000 voters rejected autonomy within Indonesia, must be confirmed by the Assembly, which is not scheduled to meet until November.

In announcing the sudden reversal, Habibie made no reference to the growing international calls for Indonesia to accept an international peacekeeping force in the territory.

United States President Bill Clinton raised the pressure on Sunday morning by threatening to review economic ties with Indonesia. Washington had earlier suspended all military ties with Jakarta.

The European Community and Canada have also considered economic sanctions against Indonesia, while the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which is leading a US$40 billion bailout package for Indonesia, have said they were reviewing their aid programs in Indonesia in view of the East Timor situation.

Habibie said the decision was made after the Cabinet assessed the situation in East Timor based on a report from Gen. Wiranto, who visited the territory on Saturday.

He said the Indonesian Military, which had taken over security in East Timor from the National Police following the declaration of martial law in the territory on Tuesday, recognized that "there were limits to what more it could achieve".

TNI has worked "in a very complex and complicated situation, under very difficult psychological constraints, without neglecting its responsibilities for providing peace and security in other parts of the Republic of Indonesia", Wiranto said.

"That is why the cooperation with the UN peacekeeping force has to be established in a way that would further enhance the effectiveness of our common effort to restore peace and security in East Timor as quickly as possible.

"Too many people have lost their lives since the beginning of the unrest, lost their homes and security. We cannot wait any longer. We have to stop the suffering and mourning immediately," he said.

During his visit to East Timor on Saturday, Gen. Wiranto said his soldiers faced "psychological problems" in cracking down on pro-Jakarta militias, because they had fought together for the past 23 years against East Timorese separatist guerrillas.

Pro-Jakarta militias have been blamed for much of the violence and terror against the East Timor populace this past week.

UN officials, foreign journalists and East Timorese have also claimed that the Indonesian Military was aiding the militias, but Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas dismissed such allegations. He said any cooperation between the militias and the military was the result of "rogue elements" within the military.

Habibie did not give details of the proposal to bring in UN peacekeepers, saying they would be worked out by Alatas, who was dispatched to the United Nations. Alatas was scheduled to fly to New York later on Sunday night.

None of the ministers present at the meeting were willing to speak to journalists.

However, Habibie's aide on foreign affairs, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, said Indonesia would leave it up to the UN to decide when the peacekeeping force would be sent to East Timor.

She also said Indonesia attached no conditions to its acceptance of peacekeepers, including the countries which would make up the force.

"It is up to the secretary-general to decide who he thinks would be best able to restore peace and security in East Timor.

"I think for us Indonesians, we would prefer to see more Asian faces among such peacekeeping troops because I think that would be more palatable to the Indonesian people and more readily acceptable to all the various groups in East Timor," she said.

Indonesian officials earlier said it should reserve the right to choose countries joining the peacekeeping mission, adding that Asians should comprise the bulk of the UN force in East Timor.

This was widely seen as a diplomatic effort to prevent Australia from participating in the mission.

Indonesian politicians have accused Canberra of harboring territorial designs over East Timor and conspiring to ensure pro-Jakarta supporters lost the direct ballot. They also deplored Australia's recent mobilization of its soldiers in the Northern Territory, and its constant demand for the deployment of a UN force in East Timor, which it planned to lead.

Besides facing international indignation over his administration's failure in East Timor, Habibie has also been criticized at home, not only for the violence in East Timor, but also for giving the East Timorese the opportunity to vote for independence.

Habibie defended on Sunday his decision to reverse Indonesia's 23-year policy in East Timor, saying he was committed to strengthening democracy and the rule of law in Indonesia, as well as stabilizing the country's economy and guaranteeing the human rights of all citizens.

"My position on East Timor continues to be determined by these values and goals.

"I know that our friends and partners all over the world, and especially the vast majority of the Indonesian people, support this position." (prb/byg/emb) Related stories on Pages 2, 4, 12 Editorial on Page 4