Megawati says East Timor visit to promote national interest

Megawati says East Timor visit to promote national interest

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an apparent attempt to win the people over concerning her
planned visit to East Timor on May 20, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri defended on Wednesday that the visit would be of
benefit to the country.

The President hinted that she would negotiate with the East
Timorese government for the possible relocation of Indonesian
heroes buried at the Indonesian heroes cemetery in East Timor as
well as the possibility of recovering the country's assets left
in the former Indonesian province.

Although she has yet to issue an official confirmation on the
planned visit, Megawati told representatives of the National
Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) that she intended to discuss
with the families of the deceased whether to relocate the graves
or let them remain in the area.

"Due to her appreciation of those who died in East Timor when
fighting for Indonesia, the President would like to arrange a
proper place for the heroes. Of course this will require due
process," Lemhannas governor Ermaya Suradinata told reporters
after meeting Megawati at the State Palace.

Indonesian soldiers who died in East Timor were buried at the
Seroja Heroes Cemetery in Dili, capital of East Timor.

If the visit takes place, the President said, she was
determined to also hold talks on the country's assets left in
East Timor during its bloody break away in 1999.

"There are many (Indonesian) government and citizen's assets
that were just left behind during that time. This concerns
upholding our citizens' rights," Ermaya said quoting Megawati.

President Megawati, along with many other heads of state, has
been invited by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to
attend the official independence declaration in Dili on May 20.

House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung and Speaker of
the People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais have voiced
opposition to the planned visit, saying Indonesia must maintain
its dignity and position in Southeast Asia.

Some members of House Commission I for foreign affairs earlier
said that it would be better for Indonesia to send a ministerial
delegation to East Timor, as Megawati's visit might reopen old
wounds of citizens who could not accept the separation of East
Timor from Indonesia.

In 1999, East Timor voted overwhelmingly to separate from
Indonesian in an UN-organized ballot.

Pro-Jakarta militias rampaged in the area, forcing more than
200,000 East Timorese to take refuge in neighboring West Timor,
while more than 80 percent of the infrastructure was destroyed.

A number of Indonesian middle-ranking officials are currently
being tried by the Indonesian Human Rights Tribunal for failing
to stop the violence after the 1999 East Timor ballot.