Ministers question etiquette of Belo's 'slave' comments
Ministers question etiquette of Belo's 'slave' comments
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian ministers yesterday questioned
whether it was fitting for Nobel Peace Prize laureate Bishop
Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo to make comments saying the government
treated East Timorese people like slaves.
"Let me put it this way, I just want to question again whether
it's becoming for someone like Belo, who has received a Nobel
prize, to say things like that," Minister of Defense and Security
Edi Sudradjat replied when asked about the comment.
"Is that the reality? We can ask the East Timorese people
whether they agree with Belo's remarks, let the people themselves
judge," Edi told journalists at the State Palace.
In a recent interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Belo
said Armed Forces (ABRI) soldiers in Indonesia's 27th province
treated East Timorese like dogs.
The article further described the disquiet on the part of the
government over the recent awarding of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize
to Belo and the self-exiled East Timor separatist leader Jose
Ramos Horta. Jakarta questioned the criteria for Horta's
selection but some officials have welcomed the award for Belo.
East Timor Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares had openly
congratulated Belo.
Yesterday, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, when asked for
comments, went on to question Belo's Nobel award.
"That's why from the beginning I've always questioned the
criteria used by the Nobel Committee for Ramos Horta and Belo,"
Moerdiono said.
Apart from claiming various military abuses toward the East
Timorese people, Belo further said that no less than nine
attempts had been made on his life.
Edi Sudradjat merely smiled when asked about these
assassination charges. "Oh, really?" he said.
The tiny province of East Timor was integrated into Indonesia
in 1976. However, some countries refuse to recognize it as does
the United Nations. They still regard the former colonial power
Portugal as the territory's administrative authority.
Belo could not be reached for comments yesterday. (mds/03)