Portuguese FM demands to meet jailed Xanana

By Aboeprijadi Santoso

GENEVA (JP): Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama insisted that it is important for him to come to Indonesia and visit jailed East Timorese separatist leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao.

Expressing regret over Jakarta's rejection of the planned visit last week, Gama maintained that it would remain an important idea.

He stressed that Indonesia would eventually have to consent to the release of East Timorese political prisoners if the East Timor issue is to be resolved.

"I do not foresee how Indonesia in the long, or even in the medium term, can search for a sound solution to the East Timor problem without setting the East Timorese political prisoners free," Gama told The Jakarta Post here on Saturday.

During a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Ali Alatas here on Thursday, Gama had expressed his desire to come to Jakarta and meet Xanana.

Alatas said Indonesia was ready to consider Gama's visit to discuss the future of East Timor, but would reject it if it was solely for the purpose of meeting Xanana.

"Is it proper for a foreign minister to visit a country solely for the purpose of meeting a prisoner?" he asked.

It would have been different if Gama had stated that he wished to visit Jakarta to discuss something with the Indonesian government, and that during the visit he intended to meet Xanana, Alatas said.

Alatas also rejected a proposal for the opening of interest sections in their respective capitals, an idea first proposed by the United Nations Secretary General, provided that East Timorese political prisoners were released.

Gama maintained that it was important to get some input from Xanana.

"For me it is essential to have a direct view from his side," Gama said of Xanana, whom he described as the symbol of East Timorese resistance.

"It should have been a more human and personal mission, but the Indonesian government was not prepared for that," the Portuguese foreign minister charged.

Gama and Alatas on Thursday participated in the eighth round of talks sponsored by the United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to find an internationally acceptable solution to the East Timor issue.

The Portuguese colony of East Timor was taken over by Indonesia in 1976.

Despite achieving little progress in the talks, both sides expressed satisfaction that efforts have been made to delve into substantive issues.

"We want progress, but this is not an easy question," Gama said, adding that all parties "shall not work in a hurry" in order to find a stable and fair solution.

The next round of talks is scheduled for Dec. 21 in New York.

Apart from proposing a meeting with Xanana, Gama in his meeting with Alatas also suggested that talks between East Timorese from both sides be held in alternate locations such as Jakarta, Lisbon and possibly Dili, the capital of East Timor.

Under the aegis of the UN, two rounds of talks have taken place in Austria between pro- and anti-integration East Timorese.

Gama also suggested a telephone conference with Xanana Gusmao at one of the next meetings.

Alatas has given a the idea a frosty response, and further asked whether Lisbon could guarantee that an Indonesian delegation would be given a warm enough welcome. A previous group was met by hostile demonstrations.