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.