Many East Timorese youths in Portugal ask for repatriation

JAKARTA (JP): Many East Timorese youths who have taken asylum in Portugal plan to return to Indonesia after tiring of the hard life, a Portuguese pro-integration leader said here on Saturday.

Manuel Joaquim Rodrigues Macedo, chairman of the Portugal- Indonesia Friendship Association (PPIP), told a news conference that the East Timorese youths had proved their dream of a better life in Portugal wrong.

He said each youth received US$120 in monthly welfare payments from the Portuguese government for six months. They used the money to learn Portuguese,

"After six months, the government stops the welfare and leaves the East Timorese jobless, because the unemployment rate there is already high," Macedo said through an interpreter.

Macedo said the youths were accommodated in shabby dormitories, with between 10 and 12 people sharing a 12-square- meter room,

"That's why a number of East Timorese contacted us and asked our organization to bring them back to Indonesia," Macedo said.

Macedo is on a one-week business trip to Indonesia.

Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, President Soeharto's eldest daughter, is Macedo's PPIP cochairperson.

Macedo said that Ramos Horta, leader in exile of the East Timor independence movement, would have accepted the integration if he hadn't received money from the Portuguese government.

"A political adventurer like him knows certain countries and officials will always give him money," Macedo said, adding that the Nobel peace laureate owns two houses in Portugal's most elite area in Lapa.

According to Macedo, Horta is a son of a Portuguese who was exiled to East Timor. His mother was a native East Timorese, Antara reported.

Macedo believes, however, that after a time Horta will acknowledge that integration with Indonesia is East Timorese's best choice.

East Timor has become a thorn in Indonesia-Portugal's relationship, after the former Portuguese colony integrated with Indonesia in 1976. It was named Indonesia's 27th province.

Both countries have agreed to settle their dispute under mediation of the United Nations' secretary-general.

At least 108 East Timorese have entered foreign embassies in Jakarta seeking political asylum since September 1995.

Almost two weeks ago, a group of 33 East Timorese anti- integration youths scaled the Austrian Embassy's fence in a bid to meet with visiting UN special envoy Jamsheed Marker. They spent two nights in police custody before being released.

Macedo also planned to publish a book revealing a number of "secrets" about Lisbon's relationship with its former colony. He said the book was intended for East Timorese youths who do not know what happened 20 years ago.

"During the last four years I have collected a number of top secret documents in Portugal," he said, adding that he would call the book The Secret Documents of East Timor.

He said the book's publication in May was part of his efforts to persuade the Portuguese government and people to recognize East Timor's integration with Indonesia. The book will be translated into Indonesian, English and French.

Macedo declined to say what the book would reveal but said it would show there was no need for a referendum to decide the disputed territory's future.

"The majority of Portuguese acknowledge that a referendum is unnecessary. There are only a few people who seek that, including Horta," Macedo said.

He said a referendum would only trigger a new civil war in East Timor.

"The East Timor dispute has been exploited by certain people who lust for money," he said. (amd)