Indonesia pleads for more time on East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas called on the United Nations and the international community on Thursday to give Indonesia time to prove it was capable of restoring law and order in East Timor.

The minister said with the imposition of a state of military emergency in the territory, the government was now able to quickly improve the situation.

Nevertheless, he did not set a specific time frame for restoring order to East Timor.

"It's only been two days (since the imposition of martial law) and things are already improving," he said.

"Give us time now and see the results. Judge us by the fact that under the role and under the arrangements of martial law, we can now restore law and order," Alatas said.

Speaking after attending a meeting between President B.J. Habibie and a five-member UN Security Council mission at Merdeka Palace, Alatas said martial law provided a legal foundation to take the necessary measures to quell the situation in East Timor.

Alatas once again reiterated Indonesia's rejection of an international peacekeeping force in East Timor until the People's Consultative Assembly officially annulled the 1978 decree which integrated East Timor into Indonesia.

For now the government welcomes any humanitarian assistance, but rejects foreign troops, he said.

Alatas said Habibie would only consider talks on a UN peacekeeping force if the new military approach failed.

"If it doesn't work, our President has said we are willing to sit down and talk about (a peacekeeping force) ... but right now I think it's only fair and reasonable and rational to allow this new situation to take place in East Timor," he said.

He brushed aside continued accusations by the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) that Indonesia was making no effort to stop the wave of violence in the East Timor capital of Dili.

"This is, sorry to say, the greatest nonsense that I ever heard," the minister stated.

To those who are continuing to press for an international peacekeeping force, he said: "How effective can a peacekeeping operation be when there is no peace to keep ... it would quickly turn into a peace-enforcing mission."

"We have so much experience in the UN about this type of mission and about the failures of this type of mission," he said.

The UN Security Council mission, led by Namibia's Martin Andjaba, will depart for Dili on Saturday to assess the situation before returning to Jakarta for further meetings with Habibie.

Andjaba said he would discuss the details of the visit to Dili with Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Wiranto on Friday.

Habibie also received telephone calls on the situation in East Timor from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday.

Separately, Habibie spokeswoman Dewi Fortuna Anwar expressed hope that martial law would only be imposed in East Timor for two weeks.

"We hope it will not last long," Dewi said while warning that prolonged martial law could have negative impacts, including human rights abuses.

Force

Meanwhile in London, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said an agreement had been reached with United States President Bill Clinton to support efforts to get an international force into East Timor.

"They agreed on the importance of supporting efforts to get an international UN force to East Timor, subject to approval by the UN Security Council and the Indonesian government," Reuters quoted the spokesman as saying.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Thursday that Clinton assured him of the United States' assistance if a multinational peacekeeping force was assembled.

"If there is a decision to commit an international peacekeeping force then the United States will support that commitment in a tangible way," AFP quoted Howard as saying in Canberra.

However, top U.S. officials in Washington, including Defense Secretary William Cohen and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, seemed to express wariness at the prospect of stationing American troops in East Timor.

"The United States cannot be, and should not be, viewed as the policeman of the world," Cohen said.

Berger also ruled out any unilateral action: "Because we bombed Kosovo doesn't mean we should bomb Dili."

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, who was in Auckland attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Thursday, said an international presence in East Timor should be considered only if all efforts by the Indonesian government failed.

"If all efforts by the Indonesian government fail, there may arise a need to seriously consider an international presence (in East Timor)," Komura was quoted by Japanese officials as saying.

Iraq on Thursday became one of the few countries which seemed to sympathize with Jakarta's position, urging the international community to allow Indonesia to resolve the crisis by itself.

"Iraq strongly opposes any foreign intervention in national affairs and urges (the international community) to allow the Indonesian government to settle the Timor crisis and avoid spilling blood," Iraq's spokesman said in Baghdad on Wednesday.

China said it remained "open-minded" about the prospect of an international peacekeeping force, a spokesman said on Thursday.

"We have taken note that the Indonesian government imposed martial law. We hope that with the concerted efforts of the Indonesian government, the UN and relevant parties, stability can prevail in East Timor," the spokesman said. (prb)