Many Indonesian businesspeople will come to E. Timor to invest

Many Indonesian businesspeople will come to E. Timor to invest

On the sidelines of his visit here to attend the inauguration of
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf
Kalla, East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri talked on
Wednesday with The Jakarta Post's Veeramalla Anjaiah and Adianto
P. Simamora. The following are excerpts of the interview.

Question: What do you think of a retired Army general, Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, becoming Indonesia's new president?

Answer: Let me first congratulate Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Jusuf Kalla for their victory in the first-ever direct
presidential election. I would also like to congratulate all
leaders of Indonesia, particularly Ibu Megawati Soekarnoputri,
for the successful democratic election process.

President Susilo is not new to us, we have met him several
times already and know him very well. I can describe the
President as an open-minded person, and very competent in his
duties. I am sure he will become one of the best presidents of
Indonesia. We are ready to work with him in the interests of both
countries, and strengthen our relations further.

How does Indonesia figure in your country's foreign policy?

Indonesia is one of the most important countries to us. East
Timor is a very small country dwarfed between two big countries
in the region: Australia and Indonesia. What we are looking for
are the best possible relations with Indonesia. These ties are
based on our historic, political, economic and geostrategic
interests.

What about economic relations?

They are good. Some Indonesian companies have already been
operating in East Timor. By end of this year, we will have a new
package of laws, especially investment laws. These laws are
intended to attract foreign investment. I think many Indonesian
businesspeople will come to East Timor to invest. Indonesia is
one of our biggest trade and economic partners.

What is your government's stance on the verdicts handed down
in cases of human rights abuses in East Timor?

As the Prime Minister of East Timor, I don't want to make any
comment on courts in foreign countries. It would not be
appropriate of me to comment on Indonesian courts.

As far as the courts in East Timor are concerned, I can tell
you that more people have been convicted. So far, these courts
are administered by personnel from the United Nations, not from
East Timor. I think, these courts have not achieved 100 percent
success in dealing with serious crime. But, they have been doing
a good job. And now we are approaching the end of the UN's
presence in East Timor. We have already begun some discussions on
how to administer these courts once the UN has left the country.
We have to do something to continue the legal process.

Still, there are some contentious issues, like Indonesian
assets and the demarcation of borders. What is your government's
stance on these problems?

Relations are very good at the highest levels. Of course, we
are aware that some issues are still pending. We have held a
series of talks on reaching a land-border agreement and they are
in the final phase. We are yet to reach an agreement on maritime
boundaries. We have many avenues to resolve these pending issues.
And we have this issue of assets. We are working on it. We need a
particular kind of approach to resolve it.

Could you tell us about the around 400 Indonesians who are
staying at a mosque in Dili? How you are going to settle this
matter?

There are around 400 Indonesians staying at the mosque. They
are illegals. They don't want to be legalized, but they claim
they are East Timorese. Our foreign affairs, labor and human
rights offices are working with them, trying to implement our
laws in our country. I am sure that if the same situation
happened in another country, they would have been expelled from
the country by now. Since it is the holy month of Ramadhan, we
stopped pressurizing them. They are still there.

Being a Muslim prime minister in the predominantly catholic
East Timor, how do you feel and what kind of difficulties do you
face?

Personally, I am a Muslim, though not a leader of the Muslim
community in East Timor. I have been telling the people that as a
politician and as a prime minister, I have no religion. I did not
get this job because of my religion. I got it because of my
involvement in the struggle for freedom, and my position in the
ruling party. I am the prime minister of both Muslims and
Christians, and the entire population of East Timor for that
matter.

There is no discrimination against Muslims, who are the
minority in East Timor. The Catholic church is very tolerant and
the Muslim community has always been integrated into society,
while maintaining differences in religion and some rituals. The
400 Indonesians, who are staying at the mosque, refused to
integrate with East Timorese society. That's the problem. The
spirit and sense of tolerance in East Timor is really very high.