Portuguese FM demands to meet jailed Xanana
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.