Portugal accepts East Timor plan

Portugal accepts East Timor plan

JAKARTA (JP): Portugal accepted on Friday Indonesia's autonomy
package for East Timor, paving the way for a historic ballot in
the troubled province before the end of August, Antara reported
from United Nations headquarters in New York.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the two countries would
sign the deal on May 5, because the Indonesian government needed
more time to approve two new documents which will be part of the
agreement. The documents, introduced by Portugal, concern the
conducting of the ballot and security arrangements.

"I am pleased to inform you that after a very productive and
successful round of meetings ... we have an agreement," Annan
said after closing the two-day UN sponsored ministerial meeting
between Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and his Portuguese
counterpart, Jaime Gama.

According to AP, Alatas said there were no "sticking points"
and expressed hope the two new proposals will not pose any
problems for Indonesia.

President B.J. Habibie has said he plans to hold a direct vote
on the autonomy plan in July to enable the 800,000 East Timorese
to choose whether they want to remain part of Indonesia or become
an independent state.

Alatas said he hoped the ballot could be held before the end
of August.

Alatas said UN civilian police could probably form part of the
UN contingent to be sent to East Timor to organize the vote, but
added that Indonesian military and police would play the major
important role of ensuring peace and order in the province.

He again ruled out the possibility of the deployment of
foreign troops on a peacekeeping mission there.

UN representative to East Timor Jamsheed Marker, who attended
the talks, told reporters he did not consider a peacekeeping
force "necessary" at this time.

"We have taken the word of the Indonesian government that
peaceful conditions will prevail," he said.

The international community, including Australia and Japan,
warmly welcomed the agreement. Australian Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer called it an important step toward "the
realization of a peaceful and democratic transition for East
Timor".

Downer is to accompany Prime Minister John Howard during a
meeting with President B.J. Habibie in Bali on Tuesday.

"The agreement was a big step forward toward settling the
matter over East Timor peacefully," the Japanese foreign ministry
said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.

In East Timor's capital of Dili, both prointegration and
proindependence groups were calm about the developments in New
York.

"The result is good, but we are very disappointed over the
delay (in the signing) ... we need it to stop killings that still
continue here," said David Ximenes, spokesman for proindependence
group the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT).

The council is chaired by jailed rebel Jose Alexandre "Xanana"
Gusmao.

"(The delay) of the signing of the agreement ... could worsen
conflict between pro and anti-integration groups," said the
spokesman for the prointegration Democratic Forum for Justice and
Peace, Florencio Viera.

Abduction

In East Timor, 30 residents of Covalima regency were abducted
last Saturday, director of a Dili legal aid office said. Two of
them are believed to have been killed, lawyer Aniceto Guterres
Lopes of the Hak Foundation told The Jakarta Post.

Quoting local sources, abductions by prointegration groups in
the regency followed the daylight shootings in Suai town, about
200 kilometers southwest of Dili.

Men identified as prointegration members reportedly have
entered residents' homes in the middle of the night and kidnap
people on their list of suspected independence supporters.

Last Saturday and Sunday, 14 people were killed in a number of
violent incidents in Dili.

Covalima residents declined to talk to the media by phone,
saying they suspected the lines were tapped, while roads to the
area were blocked by several militia check posts.

On Saturday, authorities still maintained the area was safe
and that nothing was amiss.

However, "Despite the Wednesday peace pledge, terror,
intimidation and abductions are still going on in Covalima,"
Aniceto said.

He added that as of Saturday, house searches were still going
on, such as in Maskarinas, West Dili. The targets were people
from Maubara and Liquica town in Liquica regency, where a
massacre took place early April, killing at least 25, according
to one estimate.

Dili Police chief Col. Timbul Silaen said on Saturday he had
ordered a stop to all law violations, but said time was needed to
enforce the peace pact down to the village and farm levels.

Meanwhile, relief organizations reported continued threats on
them, preventing them from reaching Liquica and other areas in
dire need of food and medical supplies. In addition, government
health services have dropped dramatically following the exodus of
many non-East Timorese health workers, citing terror caused by
proindependence groups.

Gregorius M. Fernandez of the United Nations Children's Fund
based in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, which is to open a liaison
office in Dili, said international organizations had checked
medical supplies at Dili warehouses.

East Timor bishops have requested international aid to
anticipate medical and food supply shortages, he said, and the
organizations were searching for ways in which they could help.

"There are enough supplies until June," he told the Post on
Saturday after accompanying representatives of the World Health
Organization and the United Nations Development Program. (33/anr)