Megawati embarks on tour of East Timor

DILI, East Timor (JP): Chairwoman and presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Megawati Soekarnoputri departed Jakarta for Dili on Sunday.

Following her arrival here about 8 p.m., she met with Governor Jose Abilio Soares, community leaders and other local authorities. Her packed schedule for Monday and Tuesday was cited as the reason for the late night meeting.

"She will tour the regencies of Ermera, Bobonaro, Covalima and Ambeno by helicopter," a protocol official of the provincial administration told The Jakarta Post Sunday.

Megawati intended to see for herself the completed groundwork before the planned direct ballot to determine East Timor's future, a party official said.

Megawati "does not want a repetition of the bloodshed during the civil war of 1974/1975, which sacrificed thousands of innocent people," secretary of the provincial party branch, Rony Bernard Hutagaol told Antara.

In her recent political speech, Megawati said she would respect the outcome of the ballot although she criticized President B.J. Habibie for initiating the UN-sponsored event.

Reuters reported from a guerrilla base in Viqueque regency on Saturday that the commander of Falintil, the proindependence militia, said he did not believe it was possible that a free vote would reject independence.

Taur Matan Ruak, 42, was quoted as saying, "If the vote is democratic and free, we will accept it.

"But we believe it is not possible (for the autonomy option to win). If it does, it will be a miracle."

He said the registration process was a success. The UN said more than 446,000 registered by Saturday. East Timorese outside the province had until Sunday to register. Results of the ballot were expected within a week of voting.

Taur was scheduled to meet United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) head Ian Martin and a number of senior commanders from the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Monday, the news agency reported.

"We are very worried about the situation, but we have to believe that the United Nations have proper control," Taur said.

Taur said despite conditions for the ballot in the UN- sponsored agreement that stipulated disputing parties must disarm, "if there are any Indonesian soldiers here, Falintil will not disarm".

Separately from Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, it was reported that at least 300 East Timorese in East Kalimantan had failed to register because of lack of transportation fees to the registration center there.

Only 24 people arrived in Ujungpandang to register on the last day.

Agustinus Ximenes of the Forum for Unity, Peace and Justice said they would boycott the ballot in Ujungpandang. The government, he told the Post Sunday, "has failed to accomodate and facilitate East Timorese in Sulawesi and Kalimantan who wish to participate in the ballot."

Meanwhile, a UNAMET spokesman, David Wimhurst, told the Post in Dili that a signing of a code of campaign rules was scheduled on Monday between prointegration and proindependence groups.

Separately, spokesman of the official Indonesian Task Force for the Implementation of the Popular Consultation on East Timor, Dino Patti Djalal, said on Sunday that he would lodge a strong complaint against UNAMET for the behavior of some of its staff.

He said a number of the Mission's interpreters had told people here that the UN was in the province to help bring about independence.

UNAMET has denied this but Dino told Antara that he based his allegations on a number of reports.

"A number of UNAMET staff recruited among locals or outsiders have proved to deviate from their mission," he said.

"What we want is for UNAMET to pay attention to these reports because it concerns their neutrality," he said. (33/anr/27)