Mandela to assist U.N. over East Timor
Mandela to assist U.N. over East Timor
JOHANNESBURG (Agencies): South African President Nelson Mandela said over the weekend he would assist the United Nations in finding a solution for East Timor rather than directly negotiating in the territorial dispute.
Mandela met East Timor exile Jose Ramos Horta, a fellow recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, in Pretoria on Friday and said he had briefed him on his recent state visit to Indonesia.
"It must not be regarded that I am now deciding to negotiate with regard to East Timor," Mandela told a news conference afterwards.
"I am doing this just as an aide to the secretary general of the United Nations (Kofi Annan), for whom we have the highest regard.
"We would like to assist him in the difficult task that is facing him," Mandela said.
The former Portuguese colony of East Timor became part of Indonesia in 1976, a year after Portugal pulled out.
The United Nations continues to regard Lisbon as the territory's legal administrator.
During his visit to Jakarta, Mandela saw Indonesia's best- known political prisoner, Xanana Gusmao, who is serving a 20-year sentence for resisting Indonesian rule.
Mandela said because of the sensitivity of the issue, he preferred not to discuss details of the Horta meeting.
"If discussion is going to succeed, the element of confidentiality must be maintained," Mandela said.
Meanwhile, Portuguese Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Mandela, in an apparent bid to speed a settlement between Portugal and Indonesia over East Timor, has invited Portugal's president for talks in South Africa.
A Portuguese ministry spokeswoman told Reuters that no date had yet been set for the meeting with President Jorge Sampaio, although Portugal viewed the initiative "as a positive move".
According to local press reports, the meeting could take place next week, with Ramos Horta and fellow Nobel laureate Timor bishop Carlos Belo also taking part.
Mandela told journalists in Pretoria on Friday after meeting Ramos Horta that he did not intend to usurp the United Nations in its efforts to reach an agreement but was prepared to use what influence he had in the cause of peace.
Meanwhile, AFP reported Bishop Belo said Saturday that he would decline an invitation to South Africa to meet President Mandela.
"It would be a waste of time," Belo told Portuguese state radio from the East Timor capital of Dili.
"I have a lot of work in Dili and I have no time to go all over the world. It would be better for (Mandela) to talk to politicians and, essentially, with the Indonesian generals," he added.
Belo said however that Mandela's recent meeting with Xanana during his recent visit to Indonesia was a "positive event."
The South African foreign ministry in a statement Friday repeated Mandela's earlier assertion that South Africa was interested in a peaceful solution through dialogue for East Timor.
It added that Mandela would also invite Belo to visit South Africa.