Indonesia postpones Gusmao's visit
Indonesia postpones Gusmao's visit
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia has postponed the visit of East Timor President Xanana
Gusmao, the foreign affairs ministry said on Tuesday.
"We consider that it would be more appropriate to receive
President Gusmao in a state visit instead of in an official
visit.
"For this purpose, we need more time to make preparations, and
we therefore have conveyed our wish to the East Timor government
to postpone the visit to a more convenient time for both
parties," foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa told The
Jakarta Post here on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received notification from
East Timor on May 22 of the request for an official visit of
Gusmao to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, only two days after
the independence celebration of the world's youngest nation.
Indonesia replied on Tuesday afternoon notifying East Timor of
the postponement.
Gusmao was slated to arrive in Indonesia on Wednesday, May 29
for a two-day visit in what would have been the new President's
first visit to a foreign country, signifying the importance East
Timor attaches to Indonesia.
Megawati has been under fire from the legislature over her
recent East Timor visit, with House members signing a petition on
Tuesday to summon Megawati to the House to explain her visit.
"We are consistent with the stance of House Commission I that
had requested the President not to attend the independence
celebration," member of Commission I for political and foreign
affairs, Yasril Ananta Baharuddin told reporters.
"The House advised the President not to go to East Timor ...
it is only natural to ask for an explanation (from Megawati)," he
added.
The House steering committee is planning to submit the request
to the House speakers on Thursday.
In Dili, the foreign ministry was unaware on Tuesday afternoon
of the decision to postpone the visit. "We are still waiting for
an answer from Jakarta (on whether the visit will go ahead),"
said spokesman Domingos Savio, as reported by Agence France-
Presse.
President Megawati attended East Timor's May 20 independence
celebrations despite objections of the country's legislatures, as
in their view the visit would only increase domestic resentment,
considering that East Timor voted to separate from Indonesia.
Gusmao would have been accompanied by Prime Minister Mari
Alkatiri and foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta who were to
discuss, among other things, the possibility of establishing an
Indonesian embassy in Dili.
In spite of Indonesia's often brutal 24-year rule in East
Timor, Gusmao has repeatedly appealed to the East Timorese to
bury the hatchet and focus on rebuilding their new-born country.