Indonesia's assets in East Timor left in limbo

Indonesia's assets in East Timor left in limbo

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The status of the country's assets in East
Timor remains uncertain after negotiations here with
representatives of the United Nations Transitional Administration
in East Timor (UNTAET) only agreed on the classification of
assets in the former province.

The special assistant to the Indonesian foreign minister,
Abdurrachman Mattaliti, acknowledged the second round of
negotiations did not produce concrete agreements.

He remained optimistic, saying it was part of a long journey
to reach an agreement because the problem was complex.

"We have agreed in general that the problem concerning
Indonesian assets in East Timor will be solved and discussed
together between us," Abdurrachman told The Jakarta Post on
Thursday after the two-day session.

The two sides agreed the assets would be categorized in four
groups: government assets, state-owned companies' assets, private
companies' assets and individual assets.

"We also proposed to send a small team to observe and collect
data on the four categories of Indonesian assets in East Timor,"
Abdurrachman added.

On the issue of Indonesian archival data and other items of
cultural heritage, Abdurrachman said UNTAET pledged to help
collect data.

The two parties are slated for another round of discussions in
June, with the next meeting expected to focus on studying
UNTAET's proposal for the establishment of a joint border
committee.

East Timor, integrated into Indonesia in 1975, seceded last
year after a self-determination referendum.

The first round of negotiations was conducted in Denpasar,
Bali, in March.

The earlier session discussed issues such as the geographical
border with East Nusa Tenggara, former Indonesian civil servant
pensions and the status of East Timorese students in Indonesia.

However, no definitive solutions were reached at the Denpasar
meeting. (44/dja)