Indonesia's national interest

Indonesia's national interest

East Timor has a new president, Xanana Gusmao.

How should Indonesia assess the election of Xanana as the
first president of East Timor?

We should forget the past, that East Timor was once
Indonesia's 27th province. During the 23 years of East Timor's
integration with Indonesia, we made huge sacrifices for the
people of the territory, which shares a border with East Nusa
Tenggara province.

The question for the future is how to develop the two
countries' relations. Many problems must be settled by both
countries, from the displaced East Timorese in Indonesian
territory and the hundreds of East Timorese students in
Indonesia, to the accusations of serious human rights abuses
lodged against Indonesia.

-- Republika, Jakarta